


Pathfinder

by Canada_Girl2018



Category: Original Work, Original fantasy - Fandom
Genre: Adventure, Betrayal, Eventual Romance, F/F, F/M, Oral Sex, Pathfinder Society, Redemption, Vaginal Fingering, Vaginal Sex
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-27
Updated: 2019-11-22
Packaged: 2019-12-18 07:01:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 10
Words: 30,303
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18244778
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Canada_Girl2018/pseuds/Canada_Girl2018
Summary: Very loosely based off the game "Pathfinder", and original fantasy.Multi chapter piece.Thank you for reading! Stay tuned for more chapters!





	1. Introductions.

**Author's Note:**

> I am in no way affiliated with the creators of "Pathfinder". 
> 
> This is my first fantasy piece, so if I get something wrong, I apologize in advance.
> 
> Also, there will be no sex for a few chapters, not sure how many exactly but it will come.

The sun beat down on the capital of Almas, all of the different races mingling and chattering delightedly in the streets and market places, the buildings brown and white bouncing rays of light and illuminating the whole capital, and in the center was the Pathfinder Lodge, large brown doors wide open over top of grey cobblestones with green forest surrounding the side and back of the building, where the adventurers of the Pathfinder Society gathered for their missions. Two figures walked calmly up the steps to the lodge, where a man stood waiting. The man in front of the doors was Ashreed, a six foot tall human with lightly bronzed skin, kind green eyes, and short brown hair, who was the one giving out the missions in Almas. The two who approached him were Salvador "Sal" Oakenshield, a human Paladin, who stood at roughly the same height as Ashreed did, with short dirty blond hair and blue-green eyes, a muscular build that was hidden by his glittering silver armor, and light skin, his occupation being mainly a knight and he would be the strength, and leader, of the four venturing companions. His friendly and most trusted companion was Trig Brightbloom, a gnome who only stood at three feet exactly, with bright pink hair and vibrant purple eyes full of excitement, and had the occupation and skills of casting spells with her scrolls, along with popular herbs for healing that her race used, wearing a pink and purple dress. Ashreed gave the two a friendly smile and bowed in respect before standing back to full height as Sal bowed in return while Trig gave a little curtsy in her dress before standing upright, both wearing warm smiles in return for their host.

"Greetings, Mr. Oakenshield. Greetings, Ms. Brightbloom.", Ashreed said, clasping his hands in front of himself, gold rings on eight of his fingers glittering in the sunlight.

"Greetings, Ashreed. We are very excited to meet our companions on this mission.", Sal said, his soft pink lips curved into a handsome smile.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Ashreed. Sal and I have come a long way. Shall we go inside?", Trig said, her enthusiasm evident in the fact she was almost bouncing on her feet.

Ashreed gave a warm and hearty laugh as he clapped his hands together once, gracefully stepping to the side and moving his right arm out, hand gesturing towards the open wooden doors of the lodge, and Sal walked through them with Trig following closely behind, Ashreed leaving the doors open without explaining why. Sal and Trig ventured into the lodge and paused when they saw a figure sitting on the bench of a table gulping down a large glass of ale. The figure was Harsk, a well known dwarf who was shorter than Sal, but taller than Trig, approximately five and a half feet tall, with forest brown eyes and a full beard with most tamed into rough braids, and thick brown hair that stuck out from underneath his black and gold helmet, the body armor he wore nicked in a few places from battles and a silver flask attached to the belt he wore on the left side, while the right hand loop as strapped around a slender tube for what seemed to have no use to Harsk, though it was decorated in green elven designs so it must have a purpose to him. Harsk noticed the man and small gnome watching him gulp down the ale with skeptical faces, and finished it off, slamming it onto the thick wooden table as she gave a hearty bellow of a laugh and got off the bench, approaching the two.

"Ahhh hello there!!!! You must be my fellow companions on this mission. My name is Harsk. A pleasure to meet you both!", Harsk said, eagerly clasping Sal's hand and giving it a shake, and very gently took Trig's hand and gave her knuckles a soft kiss. 

Both Sal and Trig grinned brilliantly at Harsk's show of friendliness and immediately walked with him back to the table he had been sitting at, having placed a few glasses of water out beforehand, while Ashreed proceeded to sit at the head of the table where some papers lay of various locations, some with green marks and other sections of red marks. Sal was the first to notice something off and held up a single finger on his left hand while bracing himself comfortably against the edge of the table with his right, and looked confused. "Say, Ashreed. Pathfinder Society usually puts four in a group...where is the fourth member of this company exactly? Do we even have one?", Sal asked, his voice and face full of confusion. Trig's face also took on a puzzled expression as she looked around the shady areas inside the room, and the silence was broken not by Ashreed but by Harsk's warm chuckle, earning him a wondering look from Sal and Trig, while Ashreed merely smiled as he answered. "Harsk has already informed me, without giving ANYTHING away, that the fourth member will in fact be meeting you all in Augustana, at the lodge there.", Ashreed said, looking to Harsk as he wore a proud smile and turned his attention to Sal and Trig. "This companion is my most trusted friend, and I their confidante. I have already arranged a time to meet them. They are quite mysterious, I will admit, and even I do not know all their secrets.", Harsk said, though his voice remained full of pride. Sal tilted his head softly and then looked back at the strange slender tube with elven design on it, and nodded his head at it. 

"That tube at your side...the designs are elvish. Should we assume that your friend is an elf? And if so, most elves are quite social. Why is this not the case for your friend?", Sal asked, linking his fingers together as Trig looked at him and then added her piece before Harsk could answer. "I will bet that if they are, they are the most stunning creature around. Elves are simply beautiful. Especially the females...no offense to the male gender of course.", Trig said, as three sets of male eyes all zeroed in on her with shock, Trig merely shrugging. "What!? I like women too. Harsk, you must tell m-...us, is your friend a female?", Trig asked, her mouth splitting into the biggest grin. Harsk only gave a booming laugh as he shook his head side to side. "Oh no. No, no, no. I am not giving anything away. You both will meet them in Augustana. And if it is any consolation, not even Ashreed here has met them. And knowing my friend, he may never meet them.", Harsk grinned, seeming to take joy in his companions trying to get their answers, Trig making a pouty face while crossing her arms over her chest and mumbled something about wanting answers from the dwarf. Ashreed laughed merrily, Harsk and Sal joining in as Trig tried to pout her way into getting answers, none of the group noticing a figure covered in a forest green cloak crouched on a tree branch outside the window watching them, the hood of the cloak blowing just enough to the side for a pair of pink lips to show for a split second in the shape of a smile, and the figure soon quietly walked along the branch out of sight. Inside, the laughter quieted down and Ashreed cleared his throat, though a smile remained on his face. "Anyways. Seeing as Harsk's friend will be meeting you, the mission plans I have made up will be in his possession until you reach Augustana and meet the fourth member of this company. Now. The mission itself. You four will be travelling to Candlestone Caverns. Now, as I am sure you are aware, reaching that area requires you to travel alongside the Arthfell Forest. Though that route is only in case of emerg-", Ashreed said, getting cut off by Sal nearly choking as he took a sip of water, followed by a coughing fit that lasted for a moment or two before he collected himself. "Arthfell Forest!? That place is too dark and dangerous to even step past. Dark elves roam those woods, along with god knows what else.", Sal said, his hands held open in disbelief. Though he was the knight of the group, he knew stories of what lurked inside the forest and did not like the idea of so much as setting foot by a branch of the trees there. 

Ashreed listened to Sal speak before giving a nod. "I understand, believe me. But going past that forest is an emergency option. The group could take the safer path, which is to follow the other side of the Andoshen River. You would be heading that way after meeting up with your fourth member. As I heard, there is a matter that may need to be resolved before you can head to Candlestone Caverns. Involving goblins.", Ashreed said, Trig making a noise and Sal groaning in disgust, whereas Harsk choked on his water briefly before he spoke. "Goblins huh? I thought the goblins had been driven out of there a long time ago.", Harsk said, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, Ashreed giving a shrug as he responded, seeming as confused as Harsk was. "I do not know. Which is why the group will be investigating...and eliminating any goblins that are there, if any. I also have received reports of village women going missing, and we know goblins...very much enjoy women.", Ashreed said, Sal and Harsk frowning deeply as they glanced at each other and then sighed lightly. Deciding to break the silence, Ashreed spoke again. "Alright. So Harsk, these I will give to you. Once you reach Augustana and meet your friend, you will pass the maps to them, depending on their occupation and specialty, which I note you did not mention, with good reason I assume.", Ashreed said, raising an eyebrow to Harsk, who merely smiled and nodded his head once, gathering the maps neatly into a pile and rolling them up smoothly before placing them in the tube at his side which was then covered by a brown leather top the was cleverly hidden between the tube and Harsk's belt. Ashreed watched and nodded, satisfied with the group that was out together, and he stood up with the other three following his lead. "Well, you depart tomorrow for Augustana, so rest well tonight. Gather provisions you will need while on your mission today before you return for sleep, and good luck. Trust me when I say I look forward to reading your reports of what you find out there.", Ashreed said, smiling brightly as he shook the hands of the company before they left the lodge to head into the market for supplies.

Upon exiting the Pathfinder Lodge through the large doors, Sal went into the market so he could buy a new weapon and get his sword sharpened for battle, while Trig went to a stall with scrolls upon scrolls of different types of spells that may prove to be useful to the group, along with some herbs for healing that she was familiar with. Harsk only ever needed his axe so he ultimately joined Sal for getting his weapon sharpened, the two men chatting as they walked. Unbeknownst to them, the same figure who was watching through the window of the lodge was several feet behind them, seeming to study Sal with interest as he chatted with Harsk, and the figure continued walking by with the crowds, going undetected by the two and disappeared into the larger crowds. Hours later, one by one, the trio returned to the lodge as it was getting dark and brought their provisions to their respective rooms before returning to the main level of the lodge for dinner. Once each had their plate of food and a drink, they sat down together, and Trig wasted no time before they even started eating to get out what she wanted to know. "Okay, Harsk. I want to know, and know now, is your friend female?!", Trig asked, holding out both her hands towards the dwarf as he took a bite of his food. Sal was taking a drink of his ale and could only grin into it as Trig was still trying to get an answer out of the dwarf, and set his glass down. "Trig, leave the guy alone. He isn't going to tell us anything.", Sal said, taking a bite of his meal as Trig made a loud noise of frustration. "But he must!!! I can't wait anymore! Do I have to get you drunk to get my answer, Harsk!?", Trig said, looking at Harsk with desperate eyes, which Harsk met with a cheeky grin to accompany his eyes which clearly had "I ain't saying a word" written in them. Trig groaned as she resumed eating and paused as she waited for the perfect moment to speak up, and did not have to wait long. Harsk lifted his glass and began taking a long sip, Trig looking at Sal and speaking. "So when we meet Harsk's friend, I fully plan on slapping their ass. Absolutely.", Trig said, and instantly got a reaction from Harsk, in which was the immensely satisfying spectacle of him spitting out his drink to the side so it would not get on his companions. Giving a happy cheer, Trig clapped her hands and looked at Sal, who was laughing his head off at Harsk. "Okay, that has to mean his friend is female.", Trig said, as Sal just laughed harder and shook his head. "Trig, just have patience. Maybe you just caught him off guard with your comment. It could mean anything.", Sal said, shaking his head and then decided to join Trig is bugging Harsk. "So...Is your friend hot?", Sal asked, ducking his head as Harsk threw a chicken leg at him, and the three companions laughed and enjoyed each other's company until it was time for them to get some sleep.

\------------------------- The next morning -------------------------

Morning came around the following day and the three Pathfinder companions made their way to the port where they would catch the boat to Augustana, each of them carrying a pack that contained their supplies and gear for when they had to make camp. Harsk led the way with Trig at his side and Sal just behind them as they approached the boat, which was softly moving up and down with the ocean waves, and the three boarded along with other people from Almas who were traveling for entertainment purposes. Harsk led Sal and Trig to a section of the boat reserved specially for Pathfinder company and put their gear all together before heading to the side of the boat and leaning against the wooden beam, Harsk giving Trig a box to stand on so she could see too, and Sal spoke up as they gazed out at the sprawling lands. "Harsk. You are absolutely sure that your friend will be meeting us tonight? How will we recognize them?", Sal asked, looking at Harsk by his side. Harsk looked at Sal and smiled lightly before turning back to face the land before Almas, and tapped his fingers softly against the wood. "Well...All I can tell you is that I usually have a sense of when they are close by. But otherwise, they will meet us...and there is our confirmation now.", Harsk held up a large hand and a bird flew down with a piece of parchment strapped carefully to it's leg and landed on Harsk's left index finger while his right hand very gently undid the material holding the message in place, and took it from the bird which immediately flew away. Harsk unrolled the paper and read it quickly, chuckling as he tucked it into his belt and gently clapped Sal on the shoulder. "Looks like you two have nothing to worry about. You will meet my friend tonight.", Harsk said, leaving Sal and Trig at the side of the boat as he sat down on a bench, the other two following suit as the boat pushed off away from the dock and made for Augustana. The ocean was calm and the company enjoyed the smell of the water as the boat traveled silently through the waves, and Trig looked up at Harsk with a huge grin. "I am really excited to meet your friend, Harsk. We both are. I had a dream last night of meeting them and saw a figure in shadow, with no definitive sign of a woman or man. I suppose even my own dreams would prefer I wait to see your friend...though I am still hoping it is a female.", Trig said, giving a playful wink at Harsk, who seemed to blush a bit through his bushy beard and cleared his throat, quickly putting on a friendly smile. "Well, I hope that your curiosity will finally be sated after we meet them. We will be meeting them for dinner in the local tavern. They have already arrived at Augustana, according to their note.", Harsk said, his words making Sal chuckle. "Your friend is quite impressive already, Harsk.", Sal said, and Harsk gave him a grin. "Oh Sal...You have no idea. Heh.", Harsk said with a chuckle at the end, patting Sal's shoulder with a knowing grin on his face.

Approximately three hours later, the boat reached the port outside of Augustana, successfully docking and was tied up by a person on the boat and from the land itself, the company grabbed their belongings from their section while others grabbed their own and prepared to disembark the boat. Once they were clear, the passengers all began to walk down the plank to land, excitedly talking about the ride over and what they would be doing in the city, while Harsk walked off with Sal and Trig, the three exchanging smiles as they made their way to the entrance of the city. "So we will get our rooms at the tavern, and buy some time by looking around. Perhaps be a good idea to see what the market has, get more supplies.", Harsk said, the three walking along slowly underneath the archway into Augustana and headed for the tavern where they would be staying for the night before beginning their journey to Candlestone Caverns. Inside the tavern was dimly lit by candles that sat inside metal cases attached to pillars holding up the second floor, with long wooden tables and short tables with chairs, the room large enough to fit at least twenty people. The three got a room each, Harsk finding out the fourth member had already gotten their room as well which seemed to make him chuckle and mutter a soft "Of course" as the three went up the stairs and got their belongings inside before gathering in the tavern's main floor and set out into the market to buy some time before dinner, as well as get a few more supplies and plenty of food for their journey. As the day went by, the time came to return to the tavern where they gave the food to the tavern owner so he could move it to a cool space to stay fresh until they set off in the morning, and the three settled in for dinner, taking a seat at a smaller table as the tavern owner brought over some food and glasses of ale, setting a fourth plate with leafy greens and a different type of bread and promptly vanished from sight. The tavern was quiet as other visitors were out exploring the marketplace of Augustana and the company quietly enjoyed their food and drinks, Harsk seeming to take his time. Trig glanced at the fourth seat with the green covered plate and then Harsk, seeming curious but also seeming like she was concerned that the fourth member had not come in through the doors of the tavern already. "Harsk, where are th-", Trig began, only stopping when Harsk held up a finger with a smile and set his fork down, taking a drink of ale and turning to a dark section between two pillars, Sal and Trig curiously following his gaze, waiting for movement.

The three were silent and Harsk's mouth spread into a smile as a cloaked figure stepped out of the shadows and into the dim light of the candles of the pillars, the cloak flowing softly and exposing only long legs sheathed in tight grey leggings topped with brown boots with elven designs stitched into the material, and approached the table they were sitting at. The figure raised their hands, revealing slender feminine fingers and gripped the edge of the forest green hood on either side, slowly pulling it back and exposing a stunning female face with a pair of pointy ears, flowing brown hair that clearly curled neatly underneath the main body of the cloak though two long locks draped both sides of her face, her eyes a beautiful hazel color with a depth of wisdom to them, her lips pink and parted softly as she spoke, the sound as gentle as an angel, making both Sal and Trig stare blankly.

"Hello. My name is Tessara. The fourth member of this company.".

**To be continued in Chapter 2... ******


	2. Goblins

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The introductions are complete and the adventure begins.

After Tessara made her appearance in front of the trio, she remained perfectly still with the touch of a smile on her face, and her hazel colored eyes flicked to Harsk, her smile widening just a touch. "Greetings, my old friend.", Tessara said, her eyes shining warm and friendly as Harsk chuckled merrily and got off his seat, coming up to his long time friend and wrapping his strong arms around her petite frame in a hug, and Tessara's hands gently patted his upper back and the bottom of his bushy hair before he released her and went back to his seat, grinning at Sal and Trig. "Well!? Don't be scared, you two. She doesn't bite.", Harsk said, as Sal and Trig were merely staring at Tessara with blank looks on their faces. Tessara raised an eyebrow then as she carefully removed her cloak and set it on a hook close by on a pillar, her torso covered in a plain white shirt with elvish designs at the collar. Though she was covered up by the shirt, her body shape was quite visible, having a perfectly flat yet toned torso and perfect breasts, and her hair was long and curled, ending at around the middle of her back with the exception of the two locks that lightly framed her face. Sal eventually blinked himself out of his trance and stood up, approaching the elf and offering a hand, which Tessara shook very gently.

"Salvador Oakenshield. It is a huge pleasure to meet Harsk's mysterious friend at last.", Sal shook Tessara's hand a few more times before finally letting go and lowering his hand back to his side as Tessara smiled. "Salvador Oakenshield...Rumors of your skill in battle are quite legendary. Word is you led quite the charge on a hoard of goblins many, many years ago. Saved many lives, if I remember hearing correctly. It is an honor to meet you in the flesh.", Tessara said, giving Sal a graceful bow and then straightened up, and Sal seemed to blush at her compliment and cleared his throat, sitting back down and quickly taking a huge gulp of his ale. Trig hopped off her own seat and came up to Tessara, looking up at her as she only came up to the middle of Tessara's thigh, and Tessara gazed down at the gnome patiently as Trig raised a hand up, Tessara taking it and shaking it gently.

"Trig Brightbloom. A pleasure to finally meet you. And might I add what a stunning beauty of an elf you are.", Trig said as they shook hands, seeming mesmerized by the elf. Tessara smiled very gently, seeming quite flattered by the compliment, giving Trig a graceful bow before straightening up and speaking, her eyes never leaving the gnome. "Trig Brightbloom. I have also heard of you. Rumor has it you have quite the silver tongue. It seems the rumors are true. It is a pleasure to meet you.", Tessara said, Trig grinning brightly as she cocked a hip and placed a hand on it, taking Tessara in from head to toe in silence for a moment. "Oh sweetie...You have no idea how much my tongue can do...perhaps I could show you sometime...privately.", Trig said, giving Tessara a wink and opening her mouth, wagging her tongue up and down rapidly before closing her mouth and quietly walking to the side of the elf and then disappeared behind her, Tessara seeming either flattered or unsure of what to make of what Trig said, and gave a little squeak as she felt a small hand slap the right side of her ass, Trig coming back around with a massive smile and took her seat as Harsk laughed and Sal took another big gulp of his ale. Tessara cleared her throat and came up to the table, taking the seat with the greens and bread, and began to eat silently, Trig watching her the whole time with immense fascination. Sal also watched Tessara and then spoke up as she was eating. 

"So, Tessara. You know of us, but Trig and I know nothing of you. You have an occupation that we need for this mission, may I ask what your occupation is?", Sal asked, taking bites of his food as he watched their elven companion glance up at him, and Tessara very calmly replied, her fork holding a few pieces of leafy greens. "I am a ranger. One who can lead you through any land we travel through. I am also skilled in combat, although my technique is stealth related. You would never know I was there. Such as tonight. Harsk knows me very well and I can rarely fool him anymore. He has this annoying sixth sense as to where I am sometimes.", Tessara said, giving a cheeky grin to Harsk, who only stuck his tongue out to her in return before opening the tube at his side and passing over the papers to Tessara, who put down her fork and took them from him, unrolling them and studying each mark in turn, nodding gently. "Candlestone Caverns huh? That place is quite dangerous, yet beautiful at the same time.", Tessara said as she studied the maps, and began reviewing a map of campsites, touching each one with a slender finger. "These campsites are ideal. Perfect locations. I recall word being said that there is a beautiful waterfall in that area, surrounded by trees, perfect for bathing.", Tessara said, smiling as she rolled the maps back up, Harsk handing her the tube so she could carry them with her while on their mission, and Tessara slid the maps inside, placing the tube on the table as she continued eating.

Sal and Trig both looked at Harsk, who gave them a big smile through his beard and finished his meal, stretching slightly as Tessara spoke up. "Harsk. When you met with Sal and Trig at the Pathfinder Lodge, did you uncover any additional information before we make for Candlestone Caverns?", Tessara asked, glancing up at her friend. "In fact, I did. Ashreed mentioned there could be goblins around here. Seems like a number of women from this area have gone missing. We are to investigate and eliminate the goblins, and if we can, free the women inside their lair.", Harsk said, linking his fingers together as Tessara's eyes remained on him and then looked away, seeming to be deep in thought before she leaned back in her chair and blew a breath through her lips. "Goblins are dangerous creatures when it comes to women. Women, from all the races, are captured and used for breeding. We will depart Augustana tomorrow and deal with those foul creatures before we truly begin our mission. And if we go into their lair...it is not the getting in part that is difficult...it is getting out.", Tessara said, going back to her meal and finishing it up, and once she was finished she stood up. "We will meet down here and depart for the goblin caves in the morning. Rest well, you three.", Tessara said, giving a graceful bow once again before straightening up and grabbing her cloak, walking out of sight to go up to her room. Harsk sat in silence with Sal and Trig before they all looked at each other and Harsk held out his hands. "Well! What do you make of her?", Harsk asked, smiling at Sal and Trig. Sal thought for a moment before speaking. "Tessara is most certainly impressive. I can see why you did not want to let any information about her slip.", Sal said, smiling and Trig spoke up with her input as Harsk took a final sip of his drink and set the empty glass down. "I think she is hot as hell! Looks, brains, and skill. We are in very good hands indeed.", Trig said, grinning as the three of them got up and made their way upstairs to their respective rooms for a night of good sleep.

\------------------ The next morning ------------------

The city of Augustana was bathed in warm sunlight and the markets sprung to life, villagers coming out of their homes to explore, businesses opening and customers coming and going with brand new purchases, the sound of grinding coming from a business that dealt with sharpening weapons, and loud thunks on wood from a business that sold different cuts of meat for cooking. Inside the tavern, Harsk came down the stairs with Sal and Trig in tow, each carrying a pack full of gear and food they required, and each of them came to a halt when they saw that Tessara was already awaiting their arrival, her back facing the stairs. Her hair was unbound, flowing past her shoulders, with the exception of three locks of hair on one side being bound together in a slender braid behind her right ear. She was wearing a white undershirt with long sleeves, covered by beautiful brown leather armor on her shoulders and forearms, and her weapons strapped to her back by a similar brown leather strap that circled her waist. On her was was a cylinder full of arrows and a long, strung bow, at her waist in a leather sheath was an elven rapier for close combat, and only slightly visible against her right and left lower legs where the top of her brown boots met her grey leggings was the handles of a pair of small blades. A pack containing her supplies rested on a chair and for the longest time, she did not move, simply staring out the window, and Trig cleared her throat loudly, watching as Tessara shook her head and turned around, smiling when she saw her companions. "Ah. Good morning, my friends. It is a beautiful day outside. Are we all ready to set out?", Tessara asked, her eyes flitting to Sal on the stairs and seemed to take him in head to toe as he was already donning his silver armor, giving him a smile.

"You make quite the intimidating figure, Sal. Perhaps the goblins will take one look at you and just run away.", Tessara said, grinning as Sal chuckled lightly and Tessara then looked to Trig, who was wearing pink and purple once again in the form of a flowy shirt and tights, a small pack full of scrolls attached to her back and her bright pink hair in a braid, Tessara giving a nod. "Trig, you look amazing. I take it you slept well?", Tessara asked, Trig giving her a bright smile in return as she answered. "I always do. Though I wanted you to be in my bed...not sleeping by the way. Doing other things.", Trig said, giving Tessara a wink, taking immense satisfaction of the elf turning pink in the cheeks, Sal clearing his throat and speaking up as Harsk was snickering beside him. "Okay! Let's be off, shall we? Tessara...Lead the way.", Sal said, giving Tessara a nod, to which she returned it and picked up her pack, walking out the door and closely followed by her companions as they headed out of Augustana.

The group walked out of Augustana under the large brown and white archway, following a wide dirt trail that stretched for miles with natural rock jutting out of the earth enough for a person to hide behind, the sky dotted with a few clouds but mostly beautiful blue sky. Tessara was at the head of the group, leading them along the trail when she spotted a wooden carriage laying on it's side in the grassy field, no horses in sight, on their right side by a large bunch of rock, and her hazel eyes flicked from the carriage to a near impossible to see trail much farther up ahead, only able to see it because of her keen elf eyes. Tessara then stopped in her tracks, the other three stopping behind her and Sal walked up to stand beside her. "What is it?", Sal asked, looking at Tessara's face as she was studying the land ahead of them and followed her gaze to the wooden carriage. Tessara looked at Sal for a moment and then saw movement by the carriage, motioning the group to hide behind the rocks and watch the carriage closely. The four companions behind the rock peered over the surface as a line of green creatures, goblins, three feet tall with large flat heads and beady eyes, with large mouths walked across the trail and headed towards a number of towering cliffs...with a small number of women walking between them, either chained or bound with rope being led away from the carriage. Trig watched as the goblins led the women up the trail and out of sight, standing up on the rock...just as a straggler goblin hopped out of the downed carriage and landed in front of the bottom of it, spotting her. The goblin stared straight at Trig, tilting it's head slowly to each side and opened it's mouth to let out a noise to alert it's travelling companions to the gnome's presence, until an arrow suddenly went through it's head, pinning it to the wooden carriage, spasming a moment until it died.

Trig gasped as the goblin was pinned to the carriage by an arrow to the head and then looked over...seeing Tessara standing up and attaching the bow to her back, pausing and looking down to see that Trig was looking at her. Tessara blinked once and then calmly moved around the rocks they were hiding behind and walked the distance to the carriage to get a better look, while Trig looked at Harsk. "That...was seriously the most impressive shot, and hottest thing, I have ever witnessed an elf do.", Trig said, completely in awe of the elf's skill, and Harsk gave a chuckle as they all moved around the rocks to join Tessara at the carriage. "This is her in her element. Even when I first met her, she had excellent aim. She never misses a target. Or at least that I know of, she hasn't missed.", Harsk said, the three walking through the grass up to Tessara, who was crouched by a couple trunks that were wide open. Tessara glanced up as her companions joined her and Sal spoke up first. "What was in there?", Sal asked, motioning to the open trunk with a finger and Tessara lifted out some silks and fine gems that glittered in the sun light. "Silks and gems. I also found some papers from shop owners in Augustana. They were visiting the city, bought these items and were simply on their way home.", Tessara said, gently placing the silks and gems back inside the trunk, moving to where the goblin was, kneeling in front of it and making a face. "God, they are ugly little things...Must have ambushed the carriage. They are heading back to their lair with those women, and we need to act fast. Because most women who get captured by goblins never see the light of day again.", Tessara said, standing up and the group followed her as they made for the goblin's lair, following the spattering of small foot prints in the dirt that led them to the edge of a forest and Tessara stopped the three and got them to hide behind some trees...seeing a cave opening with two goblins stationed right outside of it, watching the trail for unwanted visitors...like the company of four that were there to eliminate them.

Sal was able to get a good view without being seen by the two goblins, and then looked at Harsk. "Okay...We found their lair, now what? We won't be able to just walk right in there and save those women. We need a plan.", Sal said, looking at the other three before looking to the cave entrance, where the two goblins were scratching their heads with gross, long fingernails. Harsk thought for a moment and then blinked, looking at Tessara. "Tessara...Think you can do a double shot from here?", Harak asked, Trig looking from the cave entrance to Tessara with wide eyes and her mouth open. "A shot like that is near impossible to pull off from a distance!!!", Trig said, only earning a chuckle from Harsk as Tessara glanced from their position to the goblins. "No...I can't do it from here. The goblins inside would see it happen. No, I have to get a better shot...but whe-", Tessara was saying, before glancing up and tilting her head. A few trees in and obscured by dark green leaves, was a large branch that looked strong enough to support a person, and Tessara grinned, placing her pack down carefully on the ground beside Harsk, and walked silently to the tree that had the branch before climbing up stealthily like a cat with her bow and arrows on her back. Harsk, Sal and Trig all watched her climb with their breath held, and Sal looked back to the goblins for any sign that they saw movement, smiling when he saw that they were oblivious to what was coming. Tessara got to the branch, remaining covered in shadows, and moved into a crouching position, grabbing her bow and two arrows from the holder on her back, and carefully set the two arrows for their respective targets. She took a breath in and very quietly let it out, setting the arrows free right after her exhale and watched as they both hit their marks: the center of the forehead of both goblins.

Tessara grinned to herself as both goblins keeled over, dead, and made her way back down the tree and returned to her companions, who burst into semi quiet applause to the goblins inside would have no idea they were around. Sal grinned and came close to Tessara once she got within range and pulled her into a hug, holding her close for a moment before slowly releasing her, the two looking into the other's eyes with soft smiles and Sal cleared his throat, releasing the elf and looking bashful. "Um, I...Heh. That was a great shot, Tessara. Brilliantly done.", Sal said, smiling warmly at the elf, and Trig looked up at him and then to Tessara, grinning brightly. "Ooooooh yes. I see what is going on here...However, we do still have a mission to accomplish. We still need to get inside that cave and save the women. And I think I might know how to do it.", Trig said, sitting on a low rock at the base of a tree and shrugging off her pack of scrolls. Harsk looked down at the gnome curiously. "What are you thinking we should do?", Harsk asked, Trig giving him a smile. "Well, I will be disguising myself as a goblin using a simple illusion scroll. However, they would get suspicious if I come inside their lair alone, which is why I need...", Trig said, ending her sentence silently by glancing at the only other female in the group: Tessara. Tessara looked down at Trig and blinked softly, looking between Harsk and Sal, giving a nod as she saw Trig's point. "Harsk and Sal will have to be out here to receive the women and send them back to Augustana...while we infiltrate the goblin's lair. So how do we do this? What is my role to play here?", Tessara asked, seeing as it was Trig's plan. Trig, having made no secret that she liked the elf, gave Tessara a big smile that seemed to only get bigger as she spoke. "Well...You, my beautiful elf, will be playing the part of a captive. And seeing as they will want to ensure you are unarmed, you will have to be...naked.", Trig said, her smile stretched from ear to ear, and Tessara's face flushed red as she stuttered through her words.

"Bu-...I...Wait...I...", Tessara could barely even get out a sentence before realizing Trig had a point and looked at Harsk as she handed over her bow and arrows, followed by her rapier and it's sheath, and then her two twin blades, Harsk taking them and setting them aside for safe keeping. Afterwards, Tessara blew a soft breath and began removing her leather armor pieces, setting them in a neat pile, and then removed her brown boots and gave Harsk a pointed look, making Harsk look away politely while Sal did the same, sneaking glances at Tessara as she undressed. He watched her as she pushed down her leggings, and admired her long, slender legs that led to a perfectly shaped ass, gulping softly as she removed her white undershirt, revealing perfect round breasts with soft pink nipples and a flat, toned stomach, a barely audible "ding" sound coming from the groin area of Sal's armor, making him blush and try to act like nothing happened. Tessara set the remainder of her belongings with her boots and leggings, standing completely naked in front of the rest of the group, Trig staring in absolute awe of her nakedness, and spoke lightly. "Sweet gods...", Trig said, taking in the sight in a deliberately slow fashion before nodding. "Has anyone ever told you how delicious you look naked?...", Trig asked, staring up at the elf, though her eyes would flick straight to between Tessara's thighs every few seconds, and Tessara blushed but did not say a word while Harsk spoke, while still politely not looking. "She doesn't let anyone get close to her in...that way.", Harsk said, yelping in surprise as a small rock bounced off the back of his helmet, courtesy of Tessara who had thrown it at him.

Trig giggled softly and then admired Tessara closely. "Well, the nakedness proves one thing to the goblins...and many sweet dreams for me and especially Sal tonight, but we need to make you look like a captive. Elves heal quick, but it will get us inside...inflict a couple of cuts to yourself and brush on some dirt, that way you will look like a captive.", Trig said, grabbing one of Tessara's twin blade and handing it to the elf, Tessara taking it and nicking her skin in several places before handing the blade back and brushing on some loose dirt on various spots of her body but ensuring it did not get into the cuts. Once she was finished, she looked to Trig, who gave a satisfied nod and pulled out a scroll, softly speaking an illusion spell on herself and her gnome body became that of a goblin's, her head turning green, large and flat, and once the transformation was complete, she dug through her pack and very carefully bound Tessara's wrists with brown rope, leaving enough length to tug her along.

Giving an experimental tug on the bonds, Trig grabbed one of Tessara's blades and hid it under her goblin tunic just in case they got into trouble. Trig looked at Sal and Harsk as she picked up the rope once more. "Okay. We will infiltrate the lair, release the women, and we will send them out here to you two gentlemen. And after we do, you will send them back to Augustana. Once we have them all out, we will eliminate the goblins.", Trig said, nodding to both men, who gave a returning nod and waited close to the trees while Trig walked with Tessara, and once they were out of earshot of the men, Trig made a final comment to Tessara. "Oh, by the way. I am totally down with tying you up for some fun later, sweetie.", Trig said, grinning to herself as she and Tessara walked through the cave's entrance, the two of them disappearing out of sight from the men.

**To Be Continued In Chapter 3... ******


	3. Infiltration of the Goblin Caves

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Two of our heroes infiltrate the goblin caves to free the captive women. But not all is as it seems. There is a bigger problem that must be faced...deeper inside the cave itself.
> 
> Note: The conclusion of this chapter will take place at the start of Chapter 4.
> 
> I hope you enjoy this chapter! My apologies for the delay on it.

The cave was dark, damp and covered in fine sand that made little noise as Trig and Tessara made their way through the dark. Thanks to the goblin appearance that Trig took, she was able to pass by the goblins that wandered through the paths, until they were stopped by a goblin wearing what appeared to be their version of a higher rank, the goblin giving them a sneer as it looked at Trig and then back to Tessara. "You are unfamiliar to my eyes...what is your purpose here?", the goblin asked, eyeing Tessara up and down while focusing between her legs for longer than needed before looking suspiciously back to Trig. "I am here to bring this elf to you. I captured her for breeding purposes. You may inspect her if you wish before I take her to the breeding rooms.", Trig said in a realistically gruff goblin voice, the other goblin looking at her and clearly buying her story as he walked up to Tessara, who did not move a muscle, her face blank as a sheet and staying in character as a "captive". The goblin ran two leather-like, grey fingers up the inside of Tessara's thigh, and without warning, thrusted them up inside of her to have a feel and see if she was good for breeding, a fast wince crossing Tessara's face as he did so, only to be quickly replaced once more by a stoic expression as the goblin looked up at her, enjoying fingering her for a moment longer before withdrawing his fingers and grinning. Baring his teeth in a sick smile, he nodded. "This one is perfect. Quite the find, my fellow goblin. You may take her to the breeding rooms with the other women. In fact, you may have her first.", the goblin said, licking his fingers clean as he walked away, and Trig looked up at Tessara. "I am so sorry I had to let him do that to you, sweetie. They probably would not let us past this point if I didn't...", Trig said, her voice coming out naturally and full of regret. Tessara looked down at Trig in her goblin form and shook her head softly, keeping her voice low. "Do not apologize for what you had to do to sell the story. I knew what I was getting into doing this. Now let's get to those women and end this once and for all.", Tessara said, giving a smile which was returned by Trig as she led the way to the goblin's breeding rooms. As they got close, they could hear the grunts of goblins in many rooms as they had their way with women from different races: halfling, elf, human, and dwarf, and the cries of the women as they begged for the treatment to end and to be released.

Trig led Tessara into one of the busiest rooms, and cringed internally as she witnessed the women tied up and crying, keeping her voice low as she spoke "I absolutely cannot let this happen to you. We have to act now. I am going to pass you your blade. Once I do, I will cast the spell to turn myself back to my true form and use a scroll I smuggled in to burn these little bastards from the inside. Use your blade to cover me and to release the women's bonds.", Trig said, standing half behind Tessara's right leg and slipping the dagger from under some folds of clothing, placing it in the hand Tessara had open and stepping back into position. Withdrawing two scrolls, she opened the first and uttered the words in another language, her goblin appearance melting away and her natural state becoming visible once more, drawing the goblins attention as they were mid way through finishing the deed and yelling loudly in anger as they saw the gnome, one who had been raping a female halfling jumping of the bed at the same time another who had been raping a human woman starting to run over. Trig quickly yelled out a spell which would burn the goblins from the inside, but had to run into the main path as one of the goblins got close to her...only to take a dagger to the back of the head by Tessara, who had cut her bonds and turned around to throw the dagger. While the other goblins burned from the inside, Tessara retrieved her dagger from the dead goblin's head and threw it between the eyes of the other who had ran at Trig, killing it instantly. The deaths of the two by Tessara's hand and Trig's scrolls had drawn the women's attention, who instantly began begging for their bonds to be removed, and Tessara ran to each bedside, using her blade to cut the ropes that bound some women, while also making use of it to pick the locks of the ones who were chained, while goblins fell over dead around them. Once the women were free, they gratefully hugged Tessara and Trig, who quickly instructed them to follow the cave path out, where Sal and Harsk would be waiting to send them back to Augustana. Making their way room to room, Trig and Tessara successfully slaughtered the goblins and freed the captive women, finding even more in poorly made cells for future use had the goblins survived longer.

Satisfied with their work, Trig and Tessara grinned at each other as they walked up the cave path to the entrance they came in from, Tessara pausing for a moment, her smile falling and half turned to look back, sensing something was amiss and narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "Hey, Tessara! Come on, the whole deal is over. Let's go. The guys are waiting for us out there.", Trig said, grinning as she turned back and walked out of the cave, Tessara turning back around and following Trig, still feeling something was wrong. Upon seeing both girls return to the daylight, Sal and Harsk got up from the rock they were standing by with big smiles on their faces, and Harsk set Tessara's clothing on the rock so his friend could get covered up. As Tessara got her clothes back on, Sal walked over to her and placed his hand on her shoulder, waiting until she had gotten her white shirt on before he touched her, and grinned as he spoke. "You two did it. Great work. The women have returned safely to Augustana.", Sal said, smiling warmly at Tessara, his smile faltering a bit when Tessara glanced at the cave entrance with a blank expression, which also drew the attention of Harsk and Trig, who came over looking concerned. "Tessara? Is something wrong? I would think you would be happy that we succeeded in freeing the women from such horrible beasts.", Trig said, Harsk putting his hand on Tessara's arm as she sat down to put her brown leather pieces and boots on, while still looking at the cave. "Something is wrong...I can't place what it is. Those goblins were all small and weak...and yet there was only one that had a seemingly higher rank? Isn't that...odd?", Tessara said, looking at Trig, who opened her mouth to reply before Tessara resumed speaking. "Give me ten minutes to check out the caves again, you three. Maybe we missed something inside there...I will be back. I promise.", Tessara said, grabbing her weapons and placing them where they had been before entering the cave on her person and getting off the rock, walking back to the cave entrance and disappearing out of sight. Sal and Trig looked at Harsk, confused, only to see Harsk was as confused as they were, and he gave them a shrug, sitting down on the rock, watching the entrance patiently. As they waited, Sal spoke up, looking to Harsk questioningly. "Harsk...I am concerned. Why would she want to go back in there? Our mission here is complete.", Sal said, crossing his arms over his chest as Harsk watched the cave entrance. "Honestly, Sal...I do not know what Tessara sensed in there. But whatever it was, we have to trust that she knows something. We give her the ten minutes, then we go in after her.", Harsk said, Trig and Sal giving a nod as they sat down with him to wait for Tessara return.

Inside the cave, Tessara moved silently step by step through the dark, an arrow set to her bow which was held in front of her in case she got charged and quickly whipped it into any nook she found that could potentially hide an enemy before giving a light sigh of relief when there was nothing and moving forward. As Tessara turned a corner, she stopped when she spotted two goblins up ahead of her and hid herself, peering around the stone wall to watch what the goblins did. Seeing them talk in their native tongue and then walk away, deeper into the depths of their lair, Tessara soon followed them by using their footprints to tell which way they had gone, and in the back of her head, she heard Harsk's voice from the end of a conversation they had many years before about the dangers of caves and traveling deeper into them.

 _"Why can we not go deeper into the cave, Harsk? Why only go halfway?" ___

_"Because, my dear friend. The deeper you go, the more dangerous things get. Best to leave it alone." ___

Tessara continued to follow the footprints deeper into the goblin's lair and came to a fork in the path, seeing that one path led down and the other led up...and the foot prints she had followed went along the path going deeper, and so she followed them despite her gut telling her not to and the time she gave her companions running out fast. Upon continuing to follow the path and the stone walls, Tessara noted it began to get a little smaller to where she had to place her bow and arrow back in their places...and soon came to a dead end. The stone wall was blank and the thicker layers of sand showed no signs of the goblins even being there, so Tessara knelt down and touched the ground, finding it to be warm, which indicated they had indeed been there, and she made a noise in her throat as she slowly stood up and pivoted on one foot to leave...but stopped when she heard a creak from underneath her feet followed by a soft hissing sound, and blinked slightly as the curve in the dead end's floor seemed to split the sand, and realized too late what she was standing on. "Oh sh-AHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!", Tessara began to say and then yelled as the hidden trap door opened up underneath her, causing her to plummet down onto a brown wooden chute that traveled even further into the depths of the goblin's lair, her speed picking up rapidly despite her attempts to stop her descent by using her hands and edges of her boots. Tessara flipped onto her back as she was flying down the chute which began to curve back to a flat position and stared blankly as she saw the chute end before a series of wooden boards, her speed was great that she smashed right through the boards and hit the stone ground hard, skidding several feet before stopping. Tessara groaned softly as she got herself back onto her feet, looking around as she stood up straight and examining her surroundings.

The cave was much deeper than she and her companions thought, especially from what they saw of the outside and seemed to go on further down a visible tunnel, and so she gathered her self and started walking, hoping she would find another way out. As she walked she heard the sound of drums beating and chattering goblins, and peered around a corner. There, standing in front of a poorly made door, were the two goblins Tessara had been following through the upper pathways of the lair, seeming to guard the room while the chatter beyond it continued until a male voice boomed out. "ENOUGH!!!...You little imbeciles ALLOWED the Pathfinders escape my lair, with our women in tow!!! You did not do enough to try and stop them! You were also supposed to capture their ranger, so I could have my way with her. Such a fine prize she was...tall, luscious thighs, perfect breasts. Lost because of you little disappointments!!!", the voice growled dangerously, the sound of small bodies hitting stone sounding from inside, presumably swiped forcefully away by whatever was inside the room. Tessara had heard enough then, and withdrew two arrows from the holder on her back, and set them to her bow, quickly stepping out from around the corner and firing the arrows straight through the brain of both goblins before they could even make a peep, the sound of the arrow heads piercing the wood echoing through the large section she was in and there was silence behind the door.

The voice boomed out once more, filling the silence that the seemingly small noise caused. "I believe we might have an unwanted visitor. You there...open the door. Let our unexpected guest inside, unharmed...", is all the voice would say, and Tessara watched as the door opened outwards from inside the next room, a goblin peering out for a moment before running back inside the room, where silence remained. Tessara placed her bow at her back, and walked forwards to the open door slowly, unsure of what she would find beyond that point, and walked through the threshold to gasps and goblin like whistles. Looking around, Tessara found herself looking into the eyes of thousands beyond thousands of goblin eyes and finally zeroed in on a larger pair that were staring with fascination and arousal at her body before focusing on Tessara's face. The goblin king, unusually fit for one of his species, his shoulders dotted with disgusting grey warts, and his lower body dressed in stitched together rags of cloth that barely covered anything under his waistline, stared at Tessara as she entered the large lair while sitting on his wooden throne decorated with skulls, and by his side were two goblins that appeared to be advisers of some kind holding onto a weapon that only a king would use.

Tessara and the goblin king stared each other down in silence for a fair amount of time before two thoughts crossed Tessara's mind.

_"I am completely alone down here...and I am completely outnumbered...". ___

__**To Be Continued In Chapter 4... ******__


	4. Goblin King, Camp Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tessara faces off against the Goblin King, while her companions come to help save her. 
> 
> After, the four Pathfinders make camp for the first night of their journey. But will the night take a sexy turn?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter will contain sex between two members of the group.
> 
> This will be the third work I have done that has sex involved.
> 
> \-----------------------

The goblin king gave a sick grin, showing off his yellow pointy teeth as he took the elf ranger in from head to toe, the fingers of his right hand gently rubbing his chin as he chuckled with delight, deep arousal shining through his eyes as he began to speak. "My, my, my...The elf ranger is as delicious as my little soldiers said she is. Tell me...what is your name, you beautiful creature? I must know so I can yell it when I defile your body.", the goblin king said, his soldiers laughing hysterically at their leader's words, some of them laughing so hard that they rolled onto their backs, while others held themselves up by using a companion's shoulder. The whole time Tessara kept a straight face as she watched the goblins all laughing their heads off, and sighed softly. "I would much rather dig all of my reproductive organs out of my own body before I ever allowed a disgusting creature like YOU to touch me in any fashion...", Tessara said, her face staying perfectly even the whole time as the laughter in the goblin king's lair died, and the goblin king's face hardened instantly in fury.

Meanwhile outside of the cave, Harsk slammed his axe into the dirt at the bottom of the rock that he, Sal, and Trig were waiting on and got to his feet, wrenching his axe out of the ground and began storming towards the cave entrance as Sal and Trig followed him. "It has been way longer than ten minutes, we have to see what is going on. Tessara is true to her word always, so something went wrong." Harsk said as he led the other two into the cave, Sal bringing out his broadsword and Trig bringing out a scroll to burn the goblin's alive if they were attacked while trying to find Tessara. Harsk stopped every now and then to check for tracks in the sand covered cave floor, growling in frustration when he found none and gently tugged at his beard with a hand as he tried to think of where Tessara had gone, and eventually the three came across the fork in the path. Trig looked at the two paths and withdrew a scroll from her pack, unrolling it and holding it face up, uttering a soft phrase before blowing softly on the scroll and the three companions watched as a sparkly substance drifted along both paths, the substance shining brighter when it touched the sand of the right path. Trig grinned up at Sal and Harsk before quickly vanishing down the right pathway, a squeal sounding minutes before Trig came running back, her expression showing she was alarmed. "Guys! There is a dead end and a trap door down there! I found two footprints because the sand is deeper, so I pushed down and it opened. I think Tessara found the trap door the hard way and-", Trig said, getting cut off by Harsk as he finished her sentence. "And she wound up deeper inside the goblin's lair...we need to take that other path. Maybe it leads to something. If not, we take the long way down.", Harsk said, the three of them nodding in confirmation as they quickly ran up the left path.

The goblin king eyed Tessara with cold eyes and menacingly cracked his knuckles before looking to his lesser goblins steadily gathering around the elf, his mouth splitting into a sick and evil grin as he chuckled lowly. "Ahhh the ranger is as feisty as she is beautiful...But can she fight her way out of my lair when she is so clearly outnumbered?...", the goblin king said, the smaller goblins laughing softly as they got closer to Tessara from all sides. Tessara looked all around her and spotted what looked like stone pillars with gaps between them higher above on one side of the high chamber that she was trapped in that appeared to lead to another tunnel in the lair, one that she could reach if she could find a way to climb up to it, and took in the sight of what appeared to be a net full of stones right above the goblin king's throne. Tessara pursed her lips slightly as she looked for different ways out, the goblin king laughing loudly drawing her attention. "Hahah! Looks like the little elf is trapped. Tell you what...I will make you a deal. You fight me for your freedom. If you win, you are free to go, and we goblins will stop with our horrific acts. And if you lose...", the goblin king said, sneering wickedly and licking his lips as he eyed Tessara from head to toe, his next words nearly chilling her to the bone. "You are all mine to do with as I please...and you never EVER see your companions or the light of day again...Do we have an agreement?" the goblin king asked, his lesser goblins all looking at Tessara as she spoke. "...Yes...", said Tessara, her answer loud enough to echo through the chamber, the goblins cheering wildly as they gathered together against the chamber walls, leaving space for the fight to take place and chanting for their king as he gave a booming laugh and stood up quickly, grabbing his weapon from the side of his throne and slowly advancing on the elf, the goblin king bigger than her by about three feet. Tessara quickly withdrew her rapier from it's sheath as she backed up slowly before settling into a fighting stance, her rapier held out in her right hand while her left beckoned the goblin king with a single finger to come and get her.

The goblin king roared as he charged and swung his weapon, a simple handmade sword, towards Tessara's head, only to have Tessara duck and dodge off to the side before she ran at him and engaged him in close combat, their weapons clashing rapidly. The cheers coming from the goblins rose as the goblin king managed to fend Tessara off long enough to raise his foot and kick her swiftly in the stomach, making her cry out and fly back several feet before landing on the ground. Tessara groaned softly and muttered to herself "Okay...that hurt..." before getting to her feet, her rapier making a sound against the hard floor as she picked it up, only to have the goblin king speak. "I have a better idea...no weapons. Your reputation is very well known, especially with a sword. I wish to see what your hands can do.", the goblin king said, a grin appearing on his face as Tessara opened her mouth to speak, only to hear a sound coming from the level above and her gaze went to it, blinking at what she saw. Harsk was smashing his axe against thin stone pillars, while Sal was doing what he could to help and Trig soon appeared on Harsk's shoulder. "Tessara! We're coming! Just hold on a bit longer!!!", Trig yelled down, Tessara giving a nod as she turned her focus back to the goblin king and ran at him, leaping into the air and landing a fierce punch to his face, just as he grabbed her and roughly flung her to the side into his throne, the wood breaking into pieces as Tessara's frame went through it. Tessara got to her feet and jumped over the remainder of the throne, ready to get another shot in, but did not see the goblin king right away, and she turned around, gasping as the goblin king picked her up by her throat and flung her onto the ground at his feet, making her hit her head against the hard ground, and knocking her out cold.

Harsk saw his friend get knocked unconscious and let out a roar of anger, his hands slamming the axe against the stone pillars with all of his strength until, one by one, they gave and fell down into the chamber, landing in such a way that they made a hill that he could run down. Trig jumped off Harsk's shoulder and landed on her feet on the ground, and squealed slightly in surprise when Harsk bellowed loudly and ran down the broken stones into the chamber straight for the goblin king, swinging his strong axe and burying the sharp blade in the goblin king's side, his eyes full of rage. The goblin king let out a cry of pain as the dwarf slammed his axe into his side, thick blood seeping out of the wound, and Harsk wrenched the axe back out, the two exchanging blows back and forth in rapid succession. The fighting had moved away from where the broken throne now was, and Tessara groaned softly as she came to, her eyes opening and focusing on the ceiling above her, her ears picking up the sound of Harsk's yells. Turning onto her side, she looked for her friend and saw him fighting furiously against the goblin king, and slowly got to her feet, Sal and Trig both appearing at her side. Sal wrapped an arm around Tessara's waist, while Trig gathered Tessara's weapons for her, and Sal looked at the elf as she watched Harsk fight. "Come on. We need to get you out of here. I would guess that goblin king only has a few minutes left to live.", Sal said, gently helping Tessara to leave the chamber with Trig in tow, while the fighting continued. Harsk swung his axe and buried it in the back of the goblin king's leg, successfully bringing him to one knee, the goblin king covered in blood from so many wounds inflicted by the dwarf and his weapon. The goblin king looked up as the dwarf walked slowly and stopped in front of him, giving him a sick grin. "That elf...She would have been the best lay I ever had...", said the goblin king as he started laughing hysterically...only to have the last thing his eyes saw be the swing of Harsk's axe as he decapitated him swiftly. The head landed on the ground and rolling away as the body fell forward and landed with a soft thud, with Harsk looking at it for a moment before spotting a shiny glimmer from a hidden belt at the goblin king's side, and he knelt down to pull the object out. It was a silver necklace with two red diamonds and a pure black diamond set between them, and Harsk looked it over curiously before shoving it in his pocket and quickly getting out of the chamber to rejoin his friends.

Outside of the cave, Sal and Trig stayed close to Tessara as she strapped her weapons securely to her person before rubbing the front of her neck gently. Sal sat next to her and gently wrapped a strong arm around her shoulders as he spoke gently, while Trig watched with a knowing and amused smile on her face. "Hey. You are okay now. You fought well, and Harsk finished him off. The goblins are leaderless, and now they have no one to command them to continue their disgusting deeds.", Sal said, a smile touching his face as he gently rubbed Tessara's shoulder. Tessara turned her head and silently looked at Sal, acutely aware of how close he was to her and she swallowed softly, feeling drawn to him until the sound of gravel crunching under boots drew her attention and made her scoot away from Sal, just as Harsk approached the three of them, Sal moving his arm back to his side and seeming rather embarrassed. Harsk smiled at his friend gently and knelt in front of her, placing a hand on her forearm. "You doing okay?", Harsk asked, his eyes full of concern, and Tessara gave a nod and a smile as she stood up steadily, clearing her throat. "Yeah, I am okay. We umm...Let's get going from this foul place. According to the map we have, we have some distance to travel to get to our first camp site. We should be there by nightfall.", Tessara said, her eyes moving from one companion to the next before her eyes met Sal's, lingering on him longer than necessary before she appeared to blush and quickly turned on the ball of her foot, the others following her closely.

The four companions walked along the winding dirt pathways and found themselves in a field with no paths in sight, Tessara at the front of the group following the map when needed, and Trig ran to catch up to the elf's strides, leaving Harsk and Sal to walk together, and climbed up her leg and finally got to her shoulder, taking a seat and staying silent for a moment. "You want to fuck Sal, don't you?", Trig asked, her mouth in a huge grin as Tessara turned bright red. "I...Wh-No! No, Trig, I-" Tessara tried to get out before whispering to the gnome. "No, Trig, I don't want to fuck him. He is a Pathfinder companion on this mission, that is all.", Tessara said, her eyes facing forward as she led the group, Trig bursting into giggles and playfully nudging the elf's head with her small hand. "Oh come on! It is so obvious. I saw you looking at him. He is a good looking man, even you can't deny that fact.", Trig said, Tessara opening her mouth to retort before closing it again and keeping it shut, making Trig laugh even more as Harsk raised an eyebrow. "Now what do you suppose has tickled Trig's funny bone, Sal?", Harsk asked, Sal equally as confused and he simply shrugged as the group continued, his eyes trained on Tessara.

As night began to fall, the four Pathfinders finally made it to their first camping area, the river to their right and a beautiful forest to their left which hid the waterfall that was drawn on the map. As Harsk was most likely to snore as he slept, Tessara set up her tent a little further away so she could not hear, whereas Sal and Trig's tents were close to Harsk's, and once each member of the group got their respective tent set up, Harsk started cooking a nice hot dinner, chicken thighs with potatoes, for them all with the exception of Tessara. Tessara had brought her own food given elves did not eat meat, and calmly sat between Sal and Harsk as they were eating, a plate of leafy greens and elven bread in her lap on a make shift plate, and a cup of water. Sal finished eating first and grinned, patting his toned stomach through the loose shirt he wore under his armor. "Harsk, you are one hell of a cook! That may be one of the best meals I have ever had!", Sal said as Harsk gave a laugh and gave a light bow. "Why thank you, my friend. Trig, how did you enjoy your food?", Harsk asked, looking at Trig as she finished eating also and gave a content sigh. "Oh my GOD, that was delicious. I love a man that can cook.", Trig said, giving Harsk a wink and enjoying the sight of the dwarf turning three shades of red under his thick beard. Sal sighed softly and stood up, speaking as he did so. "I am going to have a nice shower under that waterfall, so I will be back soon. You three stay out of trouble.", Sal said, giving a playful smile as he turned and walked away, Tessara watching after his retreating form before quickly looking back to her meal, Harsk and Trig finishing their meals and saying goodnight to Tessara who gave them a smile and nod in return. Once Harsk and Trig had gone inside their tents, Tessara finished her meal and got up, walking silently across the grass and into the forest, following the foot prints Sal left and soon came upon the clearing where the waterfall was...and spotted Sal's clothes in a pile on top of a bush. Tessara bit her bottom lip softly as she slipped behind a tree and peered around the other side where she saw a naked Sal bathing under the waterfall, taking him in from head to toe with her keen eyes and watching the way his muscles rippled with every move he made, then found herself staring at his thick penis for several minutes before tearing her gaze away, only to see Sal slowly wading his way back to shore through the water and took it as her cue to run back to camp, making sure to be as quiet as she could.

Tessara made it back to camp and quietly walked over to her tent, slipping through the flaps and changing into her nightware, which was a green top that just barely covered her breasts with straps holding the material in place and a small green skirt, the whole thing only showing her cleavage, stomach and legs. She slipped under the covers she brought and layed her head down, going to sleep fairly quick as Sal returned to the camp with a knowing smile on his face, as when he was on his way back, he had found a sliver of a footprint that could only have been made by an elf, and the only elf who was in their group. Sal walked silently past his tent and went straight for Tessara's, stripping off his clothes and leaving them in a pile outside of the tent, and crawled as silently past the flaps as he could, and found the elf asleep, his eyes travelling along the length of her body through the blanket, and gently removed it, taking his time to enjoy the view before looking to her face. "By the gods above, you are so beautiful...", Sal whispered, his finger gently stroking Tessara's full lips and moved his finger back when she stirred and slowly woke up, turning her head sleepily and gasping loudly when she saw Sal by her side completely naked, her eyes taking him in head to toe for a moment before whispering hastily. "What on earth are you doing in here? And why are you naked?", Tessara asked, keeping the blankets over herself as she waited for his answer. "I know you were watching me under the waterfall. And I'm not mad. I am flattered. As for why I am naked, well...I think you know why.", Sal said as he moved closer, but slowly so Tessara would know he had no ill intentions with her. Tessara gently bit her bottom lip for a moment and released it as the two got closer and closed her eyes as they kissed, Sal's hand gently cupping her cheek as they exchanged kisses in the dark, while Sal's other hand moved to hold her back and gently lay Tessara down against her bed as he moved to lay on top of her, her legs spread apart underneath his thighs. The two kissed more before Sal moved back and very gently began slipping the green top Tessara wore up and off of her, tossing it aside as he leaned down and took one of her nipples in his mouth, making the elf moan softly, and Sal smiled as he gently sucked and licked the stiffening nub before moving to the other one, his right hand moving down between their bodies to slide up the inside of her thighs and under her skirt to her vagina, his fingers softly probing the outside before pushing two inside of her, Tessara giving a slightly louder moan before Sal came back to her face and kissed her lips deeply, her moans stifled as Sal fingered her gently.

After pumping his fingers in and out of Tessara, Sal removed his fingers and sat upright, gently removing the green skirt she wore and leaving her fully exposed. Sal took her in as he tossed the skirt aside, the elf softly panting from arousal as she looked up at him. "What is it?", Tessara asked, as she saw Sal just looking at her, and Sal gulped softly as he leaned back down and layed on top of her once more, getting her legs spread apart. "You are so beautiful...", Sal whispered as he kissed Tessara deeply, her returning his kiss as Sal reached a hand between their bodies and gripped his penis, guiding it to her vagina and pushing it in slowly, making the elf moan out as inch by inch slid inside of her tight passage, Sal groaning softly as he buried himself inside of Tessara, resting his arms on the bottom of the tent on both sides of Tessara's head, his body pinning hers . Tessara breathed softly as she lifted her hands and stroked Sal's muscular arms before moving them further up and resting them on his back as he began to move on top of her, making her moan out softly with every thrust Sal made, Sal moaning softly as rocked his hips against hers and gazed into her eyes, both their mouths in a O shape. Sal groaned softly as he started thrusting slightly harder and faster into Tessara, making her moan out louder and dig her nails into his back, Sal gasping softly before leaning down and capturing Tessara's lips with his own in a sensuous kiss, their moans muffled as they moved steadily faster. Sal separated from the kiss and placed soft little kisses along Tessara's neck and collarbone, Sal's strong body covered in a sheen of sweat and emphasizing his muscles. As Sal increased his speed, the two began to moan more loudly, incredibly not disturbing their sleeping companions, the smell of sex heavy in the air inside the tent. Sal began to growl as his penis throbbed inside of Tessara's tight passage, Tessara crying out as her body bucked underneath Sal's as she came, "SAAAAAAAAAAAAAAL!!!!!" Tessara cried out just as Sal yelled "TESSARAAAAAAAAA!!" as he came inside of her, her orgasm triggering his own, the two of them riding the waves of their climax before it slowly went away, leaving the two of them panting heavily, Tessara pulling Sal down to her with her hand and pressing her lips against his passionately, Sal returning the kiss as he slowly pulled out of her and rolled her onto her side, nestling his body against hers and wrapping one of his strong arms around her waist, and the two soon fell asleep in each other's arms with a soft smile on their faces.

The sun slowly replaced the moon in the sky, the beams of light illuminating the beautiful land, and Harsk was amongst the first of the four Pathfinders to wake up and emerge from his tent, fully clothed, and the sound of sizzling woke Trig from her sleep as breakfast was being cooked. Trig came out of her tent completely naked as if it were no big deal and settled onto the ground as Harsk's eyes quickly traveled over her whole body, a blush filling his cheeks as he went back to cooking some eggs and bacon for the group, knowing Tessara would at least eat the eggs. Trig caught Harsk eyeing her before he went back to cooking and grinned widely. "See something you like, Harsk?", Trig asked, giggling as Harsk turned red as a tomato and remained silent, the sound of approaching footsteps through the grass making them look up to see it was Sal who was dressed and ready to travel as soon as they ate and packed their belongings. Trig eyed Sal for a moment before her grin only widened. "Ooh hohoho, I smell something on you...or should I say -someone-.", Trig said, Sal turning pink in the cheeks as he sat down, clearing his throat. "You must be imagining things...", Sal said, happily accepting a plate of breakfast food from Harsk, who gave him a curious look at Trig's remark, and began eating, memories of his night with Tessara fresh in his mind. Tessara, still in her tent, slowly woke up and no longer felt the warmth of Sal's body behind her, turning over and seeing he was not in the tent with her, and slowly got dressed with a dull ache between her legs from having sex. Tessara came out of her tent and made short work of cleaning the slight mess inside it before packing it up and making her way over to the group, her hair perfectly in place despite the night's events. Trig looked over as Tessara appeared and noted the way she was walking before grinning and clapping her hands together once, pointing at Sal. "You totally banged her last night, didn't you!?, Trig said, Harsk nearly dropping Tessara's plate of food in surprise while Sal's mouth dropped open, and Tessara slowly sat down, a blush filling her cheeks as she looked at Sal and quietly took the plate from Harsk and began to eat. "Come on, you two! Fess up! You had sex last night, didn't you!?", Trig said, drumming her hands on her knees, wanting answers from the two, though Sal and Tessara wisely remained silent, Trig giving a growl of frustration and muttering something about "damn secretive friends" before digging in to her breakfast. Sal and Tessara looked at each other out of the corner of their eyes and gave a small smile, both of them thinking of what happened as the group ate, and upon finishing, they all packed up their belongings, Trig getting dressed first, and continued along the way they were going, keeping a wide distance between themselves and the dark forest they now had to pass by: Arthfell Forest.

**To Be Continued in Chapter 5... ******


	5. Danger In The Dark

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Pathfinders must face a danger that lives in Arthfell Forest. But when a spell by Trig goes wrong, the group is forced to take an alternative route. What else lurks in the darkness?
> 
> \---------------------------------------------------

In the darkness of the trees, a number of glowing, red eyes followed the companions as they walked, a soft growl coming and being joined by a number of others, before going silent and seeming to glance at something or someone who was with them. Whomever was there with these creatures motioned in the darkness for the creatures to get ahead of the Pathfinders and spoke a different form of Elvish in what appeared to be a command. The creatures, which resembled giant black dogs with spikes on their backs, growled and barked as they took off at a run through the dark, quickly and quietly getting ahead of the walking companions, their powerful limbs carrying them quickly through the brush. The four Pathfinders walked for a very long time just as the sun was setting and Trig glanced nervously at the darkness that was Arthfell Forest. "I hate that forest...I feel like it is watching us. Do any of you feel like that also?", Trig asked, her voice saying how nervous the forest was making her, and Sal looked down at her before glancing at the forest as well, suppressing a shudder in his armor. "I feel it. The forest feels evil...and sick...like many curses lie upon it.", Sal said, returning his gaze to Tessara, who was very silent. Harsk noticed how silent his friend was and went to open his mouth when many loud growls suddenly sounded from the forest, making the group stop in their tracks, the following silence filled by Trig's whisper.

"What...was that?", Trig asked, as the growling resumed and red eyes began shining through the darkness of the forest at various points and distances, indicating there was many of them. Sal withdrew his sword and held it ready in front of him, while Harsk held up his axe, both of them on guard and staying in front of the two women. "Tessara, from what it sounds like, there will be too many for us to kill, we will need you to cover us. Trig, use your spell scrolls when you feel they might be useful, but be careful. If aimed in the wrong direction, the spell you use could easily destroy these mountains and block our path and we will be forced to go into that god forsaken forest...", Sal said, keeping his eyes glued on the darkness ahead of them, while Tessara and Trig backed up a ways, Trig standing behind some rocks while Tessara readied an arrow on her bow and made her way to Sal's left side, keeping her eyes on the trees.

A beat of silence fell over the darkening area before a loud growl broke the silence and the hidden threat was revealed to the group as many of the creatures burst from the trees, barreling towards the group while one seemed to linger behind and bared it's teeth, the eyes significantly more red than the others and much larger in size. Sal very quickly charged towards on the oncoming threat with his sword held up to the side and swung as the first beast jumped to attack him, a loud yelp coming from the beast as it's blood splattered the grass from the wound Sal inflicted on it's stomach, and landing on the ground as Sal continued to fight. Harsk released a battle cry as he charged into the horde of beasts, swinging his axe side to side, up and down as Tessara provided cover for the two of them whenever one of the large beasts would approach from behind. Tessara spotted the largest one and the two looked straight at each other, the alpha barking and growling loudly as it slowly padded it's way into the darkness of the trees while the others continued to keep the Pathfinders busy. Trig remained behind the rock and pulled out a scroll for fire as the group was beginning to get overwhelmed, uttering the incantation to activate the power, the beasts suddenly bursting into flames from the inside, and falling onto their sides dead, fried to a crisp. The fight raged on into the night and the Pathfinders soon began to find themselves exhausted, Sal and Harsk breathing heavily but finding the strength to slay their foes, Tessara having to jump into the fight with her rapier as she began running out of arrows from her long range cover.

One beast knocked Harsk down in a single bound, it's mouth snapping furiously at the dwarf's face and yelped as as he buried his axe in it's side, Harsk ripping the axe out of the beast and getting onto his feet once more. Another one of the beasts yelped as Sal made short work of slicing it's throat wide open with his blade, shiny with red blood, and he yelled out. "How many of these damn things are there!?", Sal yelled as another beast came at him with fangs bared and met it's demise like many of it's own kind. A silence fell as the beast died, and shortly after, more growls came but from behind the group instead of in front of them, the sound of paws shuffling through the grass and growls getting louder. Trig, who was still by the rocky edge of the mountains surrounding them, slowly turned around and gasped as she saw the circle of beasts, backing up quickly and bumping into Tessara's leg. Tessara felt Trig's small frame bump into her and turned around, blinking as she saw the many beasts surrounding them, and uttering a curse word in Elvish tongue as Trig quickly pulled out a scroll from her pack and read it quickly aloud, the two of them backing up slowly to where the men were as she did so. The spell activated as soon as Trig finished speaking and the sound of growls was replaced by a sudden explosion high up the mountain sides, large chunks of rock hurdling down the mountain, and the beasts quickly ran in the direction they came, leaving the Pathfinders trapped between the rocks and the very forest they wanted to avoid. Silence fell over the area as the rocks finally settled over the only open area that the group needed to travel by, Trig breathing frantically and her voice meekly filled the silence.

"T-That wasn't...It should not ha-...", Trig said, stumbling through her words as the other three looked with shocked faces before Harsk spoke up, his voice angry. "Trig!? What kind of a spell was that!? That was our only way out of here!", the dwarf's voice filled the air, being joined shortly after by Sal as he held up his hands and started yelling back. "Hey! Don't talk to her that way! Try to be calm so she can explain what happened!", Sal said, turning back to Trig and watching her patiently, Tessara instead watching Harsk as he stormed off to a separate area and sat down, whipping off his helmet and unknowingly having the necklace he picked up in the goblin caves falling from his pocket into the grass as he buried his face in his hands, the pocket having been opened during the fight without him knowing it. Trig looked up at Sal, shaking all over as she spoke. "I...I got it from the scroll maker in the market. I...I was not even thinking of which spell scroll I was grabbing, or maybe I accidentally mixed up the words. I could only...I could only think of protecting us all...I am-I am so sorry, Sal.", Trig said, tears running down her cheeks as she glanced at the rocks. While Sal and Trig talked, Tessara silently walked over to Harsk and opened her mouth to speak when she spotted something shine on the ground, and knelt down, picking up the necklace and staring at it with an unreadable expression. "Where did you find this?...", Tessara asked, her eyes fixated on the glittering gem as Harsk looked up and gently took it from her hand, tucking it into a secure pocket on the inside of his travel wear.

"I found it in the goblin caves. Thought I would sketch it and send the sketch along with the necklace itself in a report for Ashreed when we reach the Candlestone Caverns. But now...thanks to Tr-", Harsk began, getting cut off by Sal's voice as Tessara stood up straight and turned to face Sal and Trig, who was walking very silently beside him. "Watch it, Harsk. It was an honest accident. The four of us need to figure out what course of action to take from here...", Sal said, Harsk looking at Trig and mouthing a soft "I'm sorry...", to which Trig gave a small smile and nodded in return, the group looking all around them until Tessara spoke up out of nowhere. "We could...go through Arthfell Forest...", Tessara said, her keen elf eyes set on the darkness of the forest in front of them, and all three sets of eyes landed on her in disbelief. "Are you seriously suggesting we go through that forest!? Who knows what else is in there, Tessara.", Sal said, a look of shock on his face as Tessara turned and faced the group, her hands up and nodding her head gently. "Sal, I don't like the idea any more than you, Harsk and Trig do. But we don't have another way out of here...The only way to get to our destination now is through that forest...", Tessara said, the other three looking at the darkness and giving a soft but hesitant nod in agreement. The group was silent for a moment longer before Harsk sighed and stood up. "Well, we won't get far just sitting here, will we? Let's go and try and get through this forest unseen and unheard.", Harsk said, the other three nodding in affirmation as they adjusted their belongings, Tessara pulling her used arrows from the beasts she helped to slay before the group made their way into Arthfell Forest.

The trees of the forest almost instantly swallowed the group into darkness, many of the branches twisted or even broken which made Sal and Tessara have to duck down at times while Harsk and Trig did not have to. The group walked as silently as they could, keeping their eyes peeled for any sign of movement, especially from the beasts they had fought against, and Tessara looked ahead, seeing nothing but trees and very thick brush with leaves of unnatural colors. Trig looked around and spoke up quietly so as not to draw attention from anything that might lurk inside the forest. "I'm not so sure about this, you guys...", Trig said, folding her arms over her stomach as they moved single file with Tessara leading them with her rapier held in front of her and Sal taking up the rear clutching his sword, while Harsk walked in the middle with Trig, hand on his axe handle in case anything attempted to attack them. The group passed a thick tree with many twisted branches, missing something hiding up on one of the thickest branches watching them, which promptly jumped off onto another tree before getting on the ground and running off, unseen and unheard by the Pathfinders. Tessara spoke up without looking back at the other three, her rapier steady as could be in her hands. "Nor am I, Trig... but we have little choice...", Tessara said, looking to her left side and then her right as they walked through the forest, each of them on guard for possible dangers. Sal glanced behind him, seeing nothing but the trees they had passed by, and then looked up, seeing nothing but thick, leafy canopy and no sign of even the moon in the sky. "This truly is a forsaken place... What creatures would want to dwell here?", Sal asked out loud, shaking his head as they proceeded forward, Harsk speaking up right after. "Those beasts we fought, maybe they answered to something... But they are likely not the only thing that lurk in here. I just hope we do not find out exactly what else is here...", Harsk said, looking to both sides as his statement was the closing one, the group staying quiet from then on.

Deep inside of Arthfell Forest, a male elf scout with flowing black hair and intense dark blue eyes wearing an all black outfit, carrying a black arrow canister, bow and a rapier, walked with purpose along a dirt path which led to a high archway with large doors, nodding to the two guards who nodded back, and entering along a winding path lit up by simple candles past other elves of similar appearance into a massive hidden kingdom. The path turned into a spiraling stairwell in many areas which led to higher levels, and stairwells that led deep under ground to what was more than likely a holding area for prisoners, however this elf took one of the stairwells up to the next level of the kingdom, and along another path that led to a truly huge platform of which a black throne was occupying the center, holes in the walls offering a glimpse of the forest, of which one particularly large one had a tall figure with black hair, wearing elegant robes to show high status, standing with their back facing the approaching scout. The scout stopped several feet behind the figure and bowed even though they did not turn around, and spoke calmly after standing back up straight. "My lord...a group of Pathfinders approaches your kingdom. What are your orders?", the scout asked, hands at their sides as the ruler of the kingdom remained silent for a moment. "First tell me...is she one of them?...", the king asked, turning around and revealing a stern, yet handsome face with dazzling bright blue eyes unlike the other elves of his own kingdom, pointed ears poking out slightly from under his long black hair, and his hands clasped in front of his lean body. The scout gave the king a nod to his question then and spoke. "Yes, my lord...she is.", the scout answered, his face straight and voice calm, the king giving a smile that could freeze a charging enemy on the spot before he spoke.

"...Capture them."

**To Be Continued In Chapter 6, Part 1... ******


	6. The Dark Elves: Part One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The four Pathfinders have been forced to travel through Arthfell Forest and one of them carries something of value that the dark elf king desires. What will be discovered when the Pathfinders come before the king?
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> 
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> **Part 1... ******
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> ****  
> **\---------------**  
> 

Deep inside of Arthfell Forest, the four Pathfinders silently made their way through the darkness until they finally had to stop for some rest in a clearing, Harsk gathering wood to burn so he could make them a nice meal, a speck of light amongst the dark. Trig and Sal remained close to the fire while Harsk was cooking, the three of them chatting quietly to as not draw unwanted attention...while Tessara stared into the darkness of the woods, deep in thought. Harsk looked up from his cooking and saw his friend staring into the darkness, his expression catching Trig's attention and making her look in Tessara's direction before looking back at Harsk. "I will go see what is going on...", Trig said, getting to her feet and walking up to the elf, stopping beside her and speaking up. "Penny for your thoughts, sweetie?", Trig asked, glancing up at Tessara with an eyebrow raised, Tessara giving a startled gasp, followed by a sigh when she realized it was just Trig. "Oh umm...It is nothing. Nothing, Trig.", Tessara said, smiling gently as she turned her back on the woods and walked over to the fire and dinner, while Trig followed, her face worried and curious as to what was going on. Tessara settled next to Sal on some logs he had assisted Harsk in bringing over for the group to sit on for dinner, Sal glancing at Tessara and placing a hand on her shoulder. "Hey...You doing okay?", Sal asked, Tessara glancing at him before looking into the fire and gave a light nod, her thoughts racing and occasionally her eyes would flick to Harsk when he wasn't looking, her expression unreadable. Harsk, Sal, and Trig all dug into their dinner when it was finished cooking, with the exception of Tessara who was eating her greens and elven bread, conversation limited given their surroundings.

As the group settled in for the night, Sal set up the tents since Harsk had made dinner for them, and spotted Tessara once again staring into the forest, noting she seemed to be thinking about something and found himself wishing he could read her mind to understand why she was so distracted. Once the tents were ready and the fire had wood to stay going, the all four of the group split and went in to try and get some sleep before they had to tackle the rest of the immense forest, Harsk's snoring soon filling the silent air. As the hours ticked by slowly, one of the tent flaps opened quietly and Tessara crept across the ground over to Harsk's tent, lifting the flap and crawling inside, watching her friend snore away as she opened his pack and reached inside, digging around a bit before pulling out the black and red necklace he had found in the goblin caves. Necklace in hand, Tessara slowly fixed the pack, left Harsk's tent and moved silently back to her own, closing the flaps, and taking a seat to look at the necklace closely before placing it inside her travel wear and withdrawing a paper from her pack, opening it and staying awake for a few hours to look it over before she finally tucked the paper back inside her pack holding her supplies before finally laying down and drifting to sleep. It seemed as though only a couple of hours had passed, though the time was unknown as the canopy of tree leaves was so thick that no one could possibly see through, the group began to wake one by one. A quick breakfast made by Harsk and even Sal, followed by the group packing their belongings, meant that they could continue on through Arthfell Forest, though one of them seemed off.

Tessara packed up her tent and every so often she would glance to her friends, she had moved the necklace to a hidden pocket on her person when they were not looking, her gaze returning to the ground whenever one of them would glance her way, which made Trig look to Harsk curiously. "Harsk...Tessara seems a bit...off. Is that normal?", Trig asked, her eyebrow raised as she looked back to Tessara, who averted her gaze when she saw she was being eyed. Harsk watched his friend as he finished packing his tent and getting his pack settled on his back as he spoke. "I have never in my life seen her like this...I think it is this place. It does things to you, to your head. But at the same time, even I don't know everything about her. Especially since I didn't see her for about five years until Augustana when the group got together", Harsk said, the group finishing getting their things packed and ready. Sal took the lead for a change while Tessara remained at the back with Harsk and Trig walking between them, their eyes roaming around the silent forest, until the sound of rustling made them stop short. Sal raised his sword and looked around as he spoke quickly. "We're being watched. Do you sense it?", Sal asked over his shoulder, and Harsk opened his mouth to answer until a number of figures wearing black cloaks came out of the surroundings trees, arrows drawn to their bows...and aimed straight at the Pathfinders, their faces shrouded from view. "Damn...dark elves...", Harsk muttered, his eyes furious as he realized how much trouble they were in. One of the dark elves stepped forward slowly and tilted their head as they seemed to look at Sal first from under their hood, before eyeing the rest of the group and nodding to the surrounding cloaked figures on both sides, the group being overwhelmed instantly and stripped of their weapons with Sal also being stripped of his metal armor which left him in simple brown pants and a brown undershirt, Harsk also being stripped of his dwarvish armor and left in a similar type of clothing, while the guards who remained formed a tight wall and began marching the group through the forest.

The march through the forest seemed endless to the group, passing deeper and deeper into the trees with their captors, until they finally reached a path that led them to a archway cleverly hidden from view. The group looked around without speaking, though Harsk opened his mouth and directed his question at the dark elf walking beside him. "Hey, listen buddy. We will get out of th-ARGH!", Harsk began, and yelled as the dark elf promptly jabbed Harsk in the side with the edge of his bow and spoke in his own language, which seemed to be a threat of some kind, and Harsk remained silent for the rest of the long walk. The dark elves led the Pathfinders up various stairways, a majority splitting off from their kin to lock up the weapons and packs they confiscated, the others marching the group up to a higher level and along a path leading to where the huge platform was, a dark elf scout standing off to the side of the black throne...where the king lounged casually, watching the Pathfinders get closer and closer until his kin stopped and forced all four of the group to their knees, side by side, with the order of them starting with Sal, then Harsk, Tessara, and finally Trig. The king smiled slightly as he gracefully moved his feet onto the hard floor, and got up from his throne, his kin bowing and walking away a respectful distance until they were needed. The king eyed each of the Pathfinders, blue eyes sparkling as he began to speak.

"Welcome, Pathfinders. I am King Gaelin Morleth. Welcome to my kingdom.", Gaelin said, clasping his hands in front of him and bowing low before standing up straight. "You must be curious as to why you are you here... and you need not worry. No harm will befall you. You have my word.", Gaelin continued, taking a seat upon his throne, stroking his chin thoughtfully as he took the four of them in. Trig took Gaelin in from head to toe and whispered softly to Tessara. "Is it just me, or is he extremely sexy for a dark elf king?", Trig asked, a smile touching her lips as she glanced at Tessara, who remained silent. Harsk, however, had plenty to say. "Oh that is a bold faced lie, you bastard!!! The four of us will get out of this, and then when I get my axe back, I will bury it in your head!!! See if you are still smirking then!!! You already have our weapons, and our packs. What do you want from us!?", Harsk's voice rang out and was met by silence from Gaelin...who then gave a smile. "Now, now, master Dwarf...There is no need for violence. I simply desire something that is mine.", Gaelin said as he got up from his throne and approached one of his kin who came up with a tray containing a drink, picking it up and taking a sip from it as he sighed, slowly pacing back and forth across the platform with his robes dragging behind him in front of the Pathfinders. "See...Long ago, this item was thought lost... stolen by goblins. Wretched little creatures... and that item was a necklace. As black as the night sky, with a gem attached to it as red as a drop of blood. When I discovered that my necklace had been stolen from me, I sent word for one who could possibly track it down, and I succeeded in finding them. News from a spy in my kin says that one of you have it in your possession...", Gaelin said, now stopped at one of the viewing holes with his back facing the group, sipping his drink and sighing once more. "I can understand why you would perhaps wish to keep it though. It is truly a beautiful piece... ", Gaelin said, tapping the side of his empty glass with a finger before turning around and considering each member of the group.

Sal shook his head slightly as he spoke, his eyes never leaving Gaelin, and spoke. "And if we did not hand it over to you, King Morleth? What would happen then?, Sal asked, earning a wider and more sinister smile from Gaelin as he raised his free hand and snapped his fingers, a number of his guards marching in perfect time to where the group was still on their knees, awaiting their king's command. "See, Paladin, I need only snap my fingers again and my guards will haul you to the dungeons...where you will spend the rest of your days until you give up that necklace. I shall give you one chance, and if you do not hand it over, you will be taken away...", Gaelin said, taking a seat on his throne as he examined each of the Pathfinders before looking to his guards. "Did you search their packs after you captured them?", Gaelin asked, one of the guards stepping forward and bowing low to his king before straightening up. "Yes, my king. We found no sign of the necklace in any of the packs, but we did find this.", the guard said, approaching the throne as he pull something out of his robes and spoke a few words in their own tongue and kept the exchange hidden from the group. Harsk growled softly as he spoke in a whisper to Sal. "I found a necklace that matches that description. But how could I know that it belonged to a king?", Harsk asked Sal in a low voice. Sal looked to his friend and stayed silent, his eyes showing he was not blaming Harsk for not knowing whom owned the necklace at all, and both turned back to face the quiet exchange as it was taking place. The guard eventually stepped back to his original position next to the group as Gaelin looked at them all...with an unreadable expression of his face.

"Well this is quite a development...The person who has the necklace is indeed in this room. They drew the sketch that I possess, and I have a sense that they have the necklace on them at this very instant. Will the one who carries it stand up and approach me?", Gaelin said, a wide smirk appearing on his face, his eyes seeming to flash in a knowing and very sinister manner. None of the four moved a muscle, with Sal looking down before looking at the other three and then looking down at his knees. Harsk raised his eyes to give Gaelin a dirty look and uttered a swear word in Dwarvish, causing a few of the guards to grip their weapons threateningly. Trig's small body shook softly as she looked at the king and then looked down at her knees...until finally the sound of a boot slowly dragging across the dirt caused the other three to look over...in time to see Tessara stand up and slowly approach the throne. Tessara breathed softly as she crossed the short distance to the throne and slowly got onto one knee before Gaelin, reaching into her cloak and withdrawing the necklace, extending her arm out with her hand clutching the necklace and bowing her head, her long brown hair obscuring her face from both sides as Gaelin continued to smile while getting up from his throne. Where Sal's eyes were full of hurt, and Trig's full of shock... Harsk's whole body froze, and his eyes blazing as his gaze shifted from Gaelin to Tessara's back as he spoke only a single word in a near growl, knowing she could hear him loud and clear.

"...Traitor..."

**To Be Continued In Part 2 ******


	7. The Dark Elves: Part Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Pathfinders have discovered what secret one of their own has been hiding. Is this friendship broken forever? Will there be a way that the one Pathfinder can redeem themself to the group? And what does Gaelin Morleth have in store for the other three?
> 
>  
> 
> \-----------------
> 
>    
>  **Part 2 ******
> 
> \-----------------
> 
>  

"...Traitor....". This was the word that Harsk uttered as he saw his long time friend kneel before the Dark Elf king, Gaelin Morleth...the red and black necklace being held in her very hand, the same necklace that had been inside of his pack. The word was also what Tessara heard as she knelt before the king, her arm outstretched and her head down as Gaelin approached her slowly and took the necklace from her hand with a sigh and a light smile on his face. "Ahhh...at last...What was once lost is found...", Gaelin said, stroking the necklace with a slow and deliberate touch before motioning one of his guards, who stepped up and bowed. "Yes, my king?", the guard said, standing perfectly straight as Gaelin admired the necklace one more time before handing it to the guard, who took it from him. "Bring this to my chambers...and bring the elf.", Gaelin said, turning his head down to examine Tessara still kneeling on the ground, and offered her his hand. "Come, my dear. Stand up now.", Gaelin said, a smile on his face as Tessara looked up and slowly stood, placing her hand in his while Harsk's furious gaze followed her every move...and was seen by Gaelin, who smirked at Harsk over Tessara's shoulder before turning a sinister smirk into a sweet smile as quick as the blink of an eye.

"Now, my dear. You shall go with my guard to my chambers. We have much to discuss.", Gaelin said, slowly placing a kiss to Tessara's forehead, earning a glare from Sal and Trig, before leaning back and nodding to his guard who gently took her arm and walked her past her companions and out of sight, taking the long way to his king's chambers. Silence was in the air for what seemed like forever until Harsk finally spoke up, his gaze focused on the way that the guard had taken Tessara. "...That traitorous little b-", Harsk began, a booming laugh cutting him off from in front of them that caused Harsk to quickly turn his head, seeing Gaelin was standing right in front of the three of them. "Now, now Master Dwarf. What sort of language is that? She is your friend, is she not?", Gaelin said, smirking the whole time as he mocked Harsk, the dwarf's face turned several shades of red, and muttered something in Dwarvish before Gaelin turned his attention to Sal and Trig, his smirk lingering. "And you, Paladin and gnome. Did you love her? Is that why you both glared at me when I kissed her forehead? She is quite the beauty.", Gaelin said, leaning down and placing his mouth by Sal's ear, whispering something to him before quickly leaping back as Sal bolted upright, only to be grabbed by the guards, followed by Harsk and Trig being hauled upright.

Gaelin's laugh filled the air as his guards held all three Pathfinders firmly on the spot before calming down enough to speak. "My goodness! What a reaction that was! Now...to serious business. You three, I shall inform you, will never see your little friend again. Take them to the dungeons. Make sure they are comfy in their new home." Gaelin said, a sinister smile on his face as his guards dragged the three away to the deeper levels of his kingdom before he laughed in a malicious manner, slowly making his way to his chambers on the highest level. Down in the dungeons, the guards roughly forced Sal into a cell, and slammed the iron door closed, locking it just as Sal's hands grabbed the bars and watched as they then forced Harsk and Trig into their own cells also, the slamming of both doors sounding and locking them as well, the lead guard taking the keys and each of them laughing as they walked away, leaving the three in silence. Sal watched the guards walk out of sight and slammed his hands against the bars before turning and walking to a long stone slab and laying down on it to stare at the ceiling, while Harsk inside his cell sat on the stone slab while glaring at the floor, and Trig managing to pull herself up onto her own and giving a sigh as she played with her fingers. The silence remained until Sal finally spoke up from his cell.

"Sooo...anyone got an idea of how the hell we all get out of here?", Sal asked, earning only a cold laugh from Harsk. "I sure hope you are not including HER in this conversation. Have you not noticed that she was not brought down with us? Do you know what that means?", Harsk's voice started to rise as he got riled up, Trig staying silent and not getting involved in what was obviously becoming a fight. "Harsk, come on..", Sal began, promptly getting cut off by Harsk's voice. "Don't you "come on" me, Sal! She was not brought down here with us! That only means she had something to do with this! With why only us three are down here!", Harsk yelled, Sal giving a sigh and simply laying his head down, silence falling once again, except for an obvious slamming against the bars from Harsk's cell as he tried to shake them loose by force before giving up and speaking to Sal again, this time curiously. "Sal...What did that bastard say to you before we were hauled down here?", Harsk asked, Sal rubbing his face with both hands as he spoke. "He said..."Maybe I will make her my queen so she can never be with a pathetic human"....", Sal said, a tear falling from the corner of his eye, thinking of losing Tessara to such a cold man, none of the three speaking another word, though only once Harsk would mutter "She betrayed us all..." in a cold voice.

In the upper levels of the massive kingdom, Tessara stood at the edge of a balcony that gave a spectacular view of Arthfell Forest, strumming her fingers against the stone as she waited for Gaelin to show up, and occasionally glancing at a courtyard below, expecting to see the other three waiting for her but did not see them appear. A door closing drew her attention then and she turned around, seeing Gaelin standing in the center of his chambers and looking at her with a finger motioning her to approach him. Tessara gave a low exhale as she walked back inside of Gaelin's chambers, the interior decorated with black and red, a huge bed dominating the room and a massive wooden wardrobe next to a tall, black coat hanger. Gaelin untied his long cloak and silently hung it on a hook, the loss of his cloak showing a pair of sheathed blades and how lean his body was, his black hair framing his face as he closed the distance where Tessara was standing, her head held high. Gaelin's expression was unreadable as he spoke in a low, cold voice. "...You know how long I have been waiting for your return...", Gaelin said, his blue eyes blazing. Tessara gulped softly as she looked down at her feet. "I am aware. I did not mean it to take this long...to return...", Tessara said, her eyes flicking back to meet Gaelin's eyes. Gaelin stared at her silently for what seemed like an eternity before chuckling warmly and pushing a long lock of her hair behind her shoulder before turning and sitting down on the corner of his bed, eyeing her up and down for a moment before he spoke a little more to himself than her. "Well...I certainly remember you looking like this...Such a beautiful creature...", Gaelin finally forced his eyes to Tessara's and his face returned to it's stoic expression as he continued speaking. "I feel a change in you...You have spent too much time around humans...and other creatures. Are you still that same warrior I met those years back?", Gaelin asked, his long fingers linked in his lap.

Tessara kept watch of Gaelin for any sudden movements, gulping softly before she straightened up and spoke confidently. "I am very much the same warrior you met...No one has changed me. What should I do to prove it?", Tessara asked, earning a wide smile from Gaelin, who then swiftly got onto his feet and stepped close to Tessara, brushing his fingers across her cheek. Gaelin's voice went husky as he leaned in and whispered into her ear, Tessara shivering slightly. "I can think of a number of ways...and one way involves a bed and different positions...Think of it...we are perfect together, Tessara...We don't age. We are both strong, and fast. There is nothing we could not do together.", Gaelin said, his breath ghosting Tessara's ear before he moved to look her in the eyes, his smile wide. Tessara stared at him in shock before snapping out of it and backing away, trying to maintain her composure despite his obvious proposition. "Ahem! Uh...As appealing as you make that sound Gaelin, I uhh...I should probably find my friends. I did not see them waiting for me...", Tessara said, looking at the door and not seeing the fury that blazed in Gaelin's eyes for a quick moment, and disappeared when she turned back to face him, confused. "Wait a second...Gaelin, where ARE my friends?", Tessara asked, her face blank but her eyes showing her concern, while Gaelin's expert stoic expression changed into a wide smile that told Tessara everything she needed to know. With a sense of panic and dread, Tessara mouthed "No", and promptly ran from the room, past other dark elves that milled about and making her way down to where she knew her friends had to be: the dungeons. 

**To Be Continued in Part 3 ******


	8. The Dark Elves: Part Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gaelin Morleth has three of the Pathfinders imprisoned, and has a plan to dispose of them. The three only have one person to help them escape: Tessara, who is the only one who can get them out alive.
> 
> \----------
> 
> **Part Three... ******
> 
> ****  
> **\----------**  
> 

Tessara got down to the dungeons, only lit by torches attached to the walls between each cell, and looked in each one until she found Sal, who was sitting on the stone slab staring at the wall blankly. Tessara's breath came out shaky as she spoke. "...Sal?...", Tessara said, her fingers wrapping around the cold bars of the cell door, her voice attracting Sal's attention and he stood up promptly and speed walked up to the cell door, grasping the cell bars in his hands, his face illuminated only because of the torch and looking happy to see her...and just as quickly his smile faded, his handing dropping from the bars as he looked at her. "Tessara...I need to know something...", Sal said, his voice full of sadness and his eyes showing the hurt he felt deep down. Without waiting for a response, he looked Tessara straight in the eyes as he asked his questions. "...I need to know...Did you...have something romantic with Gaelin? Was that night you and I shared real or no?", Sal asked, his eyes never leaving hers as he gauged her reactions. Tessara blinked slightly in surprise, opening and closing her mouth a few times before speaking. "Sal... It is not what you must be thinking. I never had se-...", Tessara said, Sal giving a disbelieving laugh, which cut her off, as he turned away from the bars without giving her the chance to answer his second question about the night they shared together. "Bullshit. With how he was with you right in front of us. You didn't even push him away! I am such an idiot...just go. And for the record, I don't think that night was real for you, or that you feel anything for me...", Sal said, turning the rest of the way around so she couldn't see the tear fall from his eye. Tessara watched Sal turn away from her, her hands falling slowly from the bars and linking her fingers together in front of her stomach, her eyes lingering on Sal's back for a moment longer before reluctantly moving to the next cell...which housed Harsk, who was glaring at the ground with something in his hand.

Tessara gazed through the bars at her friend, and spoke softly. "Harsk...My old friend...", Tessara said, blinking as Harsk's whole body tensed up before he stood up and walked up the cell door...his eyes blazing furiously as he all but hissed his words at first before yelling. " "Friend"?...Did you just say "friend"?! You are in league with a DARK ELF and you call me FRIEND!?", Harsk's voice rose so much that it echoed from his cell to the entrance of the dungeons, and also woke Trig who had fallen asleep despite the hard stone. Tessara blinked, startled by Harsk's outburst, and opened her mouth to speak, getting cut off by Harsk continuing. "NO! No! You have no right to speak to me, much less look at me right now!! I cannot believe you of all people would betray us! I don't want to hear what you have to say to me! What kind of person would even want any affiliation with a man like Gaelin!?", Harsk yelled, getting right up against the cell bars, which made Tessara step back in shock. Holding up her hands, Tessara spoke while Harsk was silent and catching his breath from yelling. "Harsk please! Just listen to me! None of this is what you-", Tessara began, wincing when Harsk all but screamed. "DON'T!!!!! Don't you say it is not what I think, because from in here, it certainly looks the way I think it does! YOU are not in one of these cells....WE ARE!!! Because of you, and that king up there!!! We are NOT friends, and know what? This has no meaning at all now...", Harsk said, hissing the last of his words as he stuck a closed fist through the cell bars, and opened it, dropping a single item onto the hard floor with a soft "plink", and then withdrew his fist as he turned and stormed back to his seat in the cell.

Tessara's eyes fell on the small item, feeling the blood rush away from her face as she stepped forward, kneeling down to pick up a smooth stone with an inscription carved into it, and stood up slowly, her hands shaking as she clutched the stone, and moved to the next cell, looking down and seeing Trig's face sadly looking up at her. Tessara's breathing came out soft and she swallowed before speaking. "Do...Do you have anything you want to say to me as well?...", Tessara asked, her eyes looking like tears were about to fall. Instead of yelling, or asking questions, Trig's voice was calm, soothing. "No...Because I have a feeling the only bad person here, is the one who sent us down here in the first place...and you and I both know who that was. I also have a feeling there is much more to the story...But for now, go, sweetie. We will be okay. Promise.", Trig said, a soft smile appearing on her face as she nodded her head for Tessara to go, and watching as the elf numbly walked out of sight and up the many staircases from the dungeon, and spoke up. "...I may like you, Harsk...but that was low...", Trig said as she turned and climbed up onto the stone, laying down and staring at the ceiling. Tessara eventually made it to the higher levels of Gaelin's kingdom, and before she could approach his chamber doors to confront him and demand the three to be released, a guard stopped her and brought her to her own chambers a short ways away and once inside, she sat on the bed and opened her hand, staring at the stone glinting softly at her whenever she moved it, tears falling freely from her eyes as she allowed her memories to play a moment from the past.

\---------- **100 Years Ago **\----------****

The wind blew across the vast stretch of green fields that ran beside the river just outside of an elven realm, a lone figure standing with their back facing the field and fingers rolling something in circles as soft footsteps sounded from behind. "I knew I would find you down here. Your movements are like clockwork.", said Harsk, grinning ear to ear as he walked up beside his best friend, the elf Tessara. Both of them were young, best friends since they were kids. Tessara chuckled warmly at her friend and nudged the top of his head with her elbow playfully as they both faced the river, speaking softly. "I find this is the most peaceful area in this realm, Harsk. You should know that.", Tessara said, grinning more and laughing as Harsk gave her a playful shove. "Yes, I do. And that is what makes you predictable! You only go where there is silence and that list is very, very tiny.", Harsk gave a laugh and dodged Tessara's elbow, the two of them settling down into a seated position in the grass and Harsk looked at Tessara's hands, seeing her rolling something small between her fingers. "So what is that? A gift from a suitor?", Harsk asked, half joking, half serious. Tessara smiled then, and turned to Harsk, presenting a small stone with an inscription carved into the top in Elvish. "It is for you. A friendship stone. So you know we will always be the best of friends...and nothing will ever tear us apart. I promise.", Tessara said, softly placing the stone inside of Harsk's hand before smiling happily, Harsk's eyes shining with happy tears as he wordlessly embraced his best friend.

\---------- **Present Day **\----------****

Tessara gave a shuddering breath as she came out of her memory, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand and tucking the stone inside of her tunic, getting up from the bed and walking out onto the balcony that stretched from her provided chambers, placing her hands on the railing and looking out at the dark of Arthfell Forest. Keen eyes flitting around, her gaze landed on a doorway opening two levels below as a guard exited with Gaelin, the two having a conversation. "Is everything set for the dwarf and gnome to be executed at first light?", Gaelin asked, his gaze focused on the far reaches of his kingdom. The guard gave a nod then and then paused a moment longer before speaking. "My lord...What about the human? Is he to be executed with the two as well?", the guard asked, Gaelin giving a cold laugh as he responded. "The human will meet his demise at my hands.", Gaelin said, snapping his fingers and the guard locked the armory door and attached the keys to his belt as he and Gaelin parted ways, while Tessara began thinking up a plan that she knew could very well be dangerous if anything went wrong.

In the dungeons, Harsk and Trig had drifted to sleep, while Sal layed wide awake and staring at the ceiling, blinking when he heard the soft foot falls of someone coming down the stairs and stopping at his cell door. "I have absolutely nothing to say, Tessara. I want to be left alone. Go be with your dark elf boyfriend...", Sal said, his tone sad but cold, a male chuckle coming from the cell door that made Sal sit up instantly, turning on the stone and seeing Gaelin standing right outside the cell. "My, my. Is the human a tad upset?", Gaelin said, standing right at the cell door with a wide and smug smile on his face, jumping back quickly as Sal charged at him and put an arm through the cell bars, attempting to punch him in the face. "You son of a bitch! Get back over here!", Sal growled angrily, his hand moving back so he could grab the bars and shake it violently while Gaelin laughed and very calmly pushed part of his long black hair back into place. "Oh, human. Is this over Tessara? Ahh yes...Such a beauty...Imagine how much more stunning she would look dressed the part of a dark elf, sitting by my side as queen. I will never forget when I first met her. Beautiful. Smart. A ferocious warrior. Although, what she sees in you, I will never know. Now! I must depart and get some much needed sleep.", Gaelin said in a bored voice as he turned and walked away, leaving Sal clutching the bars and breathing hard in anger before letting go and going back to sit down on the hard stone.

Darkness fell over the kingdom and the forest a number of hours later, and Tessara crept out of her chambers, stealthily working her way down the many levels until she found a guard that was heading to the armory to relieve the other for the night, having the sense that both guards kept a set of keys for not only the armory but the cells in the dungeon as well. She followed him silently, ducking into alcoves along the way if he turned around in suspicion before following him again, and once she caught up to him, she very quickly jumped into action and put him in a choke hold to get him unconscious. Dragging his body into a shadowy alcove, Tessara grabbed the keys for the armory and dungeons, tucking them into her tunic before taking the guard's cloak and slipping it on before she lifted the hood over her head, the shadow of the hood obscuring her face as she calmly walked through the kingdom and down into the dungeons.

Once in the dungeons, Tessara quickly and quietly made her way down to the three cells that housed her friends, quietly standing in front of Sal's cell and slipped the key into the lock, drawing his attention with the soft clinking of keys as she unlocked the cell. The noise drew attention from Harsk and Trig, who both pushed their faces against the bars with Harsk speaking up first. "Hey, guard. What is going on?", Harsk growled, only seeing a dark elf at the cell door of his friend. Trig, however, blinked slightly before she spoke with a smile on her face, watching as the door to Sal's cell was opened. "Harsk...I don't think that is a dark elf guard under that cloak...", Trig said, grinning widely, and Harsk blinked as the keys were slid into his cell door. A pause of silence followed and Tessara lowered the hood with her hands, her expression grim as she quickly unlocked Harsk's cell and opened the door before moving on to Trig's. "I have to get you three out of here. Gaelin is going to kill you three at first light.", Tessara said, unlocking Trig's cell and opening the door for her to get out, Trig giving her a wide smile of gratitude and hugging her leg quickly before letting go and standing back. Harsk and Sal, however, stared at Tessara suspiciously, and she held up her hands. "Please. Listen to me. I have to get you out here right now. I overheard Gaelin and his guard talking, and-", Tessara was saying quickly, only to be cut off by Harsk, who scoffed and waved a hand. "Oh please! Spare us the loyalty act. You showed where your loyalies lay and now you are letting us out so that scumbag kills us sooner.", Harsk said, leaning against the wall, while Sal looked away and Tessara took the chance to continue. "You two, please...I am trying to help you. We need to go to the armory. We will get your weapons and gear. Then we can get out of here without anyone knowing!", Tessara said, starting up the stairs and turned around, realizing they were not following her. Looking at Trig, she gave her a look that said "Please help me out here" and nodded to Harsk and Sal, quickly turning her head to make sure no real guards were coming.

Trig walked up to Harsk and Sal and put her hands on her small hips, giving them a stern look. "Listen up! Our lives are in danger, and you two are looking at the only one who can get us to our belongings and out of here alive! Now do as she says, or I swear, when I get my spell scrolls back, I will use one of them to turn you both into an animal for a month!", Trig said, trying to keep her voice down so no one would realize what was happening. Harsk and Sal both paled slightly and glanced at each other nervously before looking back at Trig and nodding, following Tessara up the stairs as Trig quickly caught up with them with a satisfied smile on her face at scaring the boys. The four quietly worked their way out of the dungeons and out to the armory, finding it to be unguarded as the guard had left to search for the one who was to relieve him, Tessara taking off the dark cloak and unlocking the door, pulling it open so the three could gather their belongings, Harsk getting back into his armor and grabbing his battle ax, while Sal got back into his armor and grabbed his broadsword, attaching it to his belt, the two waiting while Trig ran inside and then back out with her scrolls. Tessara went last, grabbing her bow and arrows, daggers, and rapier, attaching them to her leather belts before she closed the door to the armory and was about to lock it when she heard a yell, the four of them turning and seeing a dark elf guard on a balcony that had been returning to the armory.

"You there!! Halt!", the guard yelled, and started yelling in the dark elves native tongue that the prisoners were escaping. "RUN!!!", Tessara yelled and dropped the keys, Harsk picking up Trig and carrying her as they took off running as fast as they could. Sal and Harsk ran as fast as they could, Harsk holding Trig, while Tessara ran beside them, the three of them out running the guards that were chasing them and soon found themselves nearing the edge of the kingdom. Tessara spotted something off and skidded to a halt, the other two following suit when they saw a large gap standing between them and freedom. Sal panted heavily and turned to look at Tessara along with Harsk, who growled. "Is this part of your grand plan? What do you pla-", Harsk began raising his voice in anger until Tessara yelled over him. "NOT NOW, HARSK! I know you dislike me right now but save it! Give me that!", Tessara said, grabbing Harsk's battle ax from his side and running over to a tree that was already about to fall down, and began slamming the ax into the wood and back out to chop it down for the group to cross the gap, Sal keeping an eye out for guards. Though it felt like an excruciatingly long time, the tree soon gave a loud noise as it fell down and hit the other side of the gap, and Tessara walked over to Harsk with the ax, offering it back to him. Harsk stared daggers at Tessara and slowly put Trig down, wrapping a hand around the ax handle and all but ripping it from Tessara's hand, his words uttered in a low tone as he put the ax back in it's holder. "I don't dislike you...I hate you...", Harsk said, Tessara leaning back as a flash of hurt crossed her eyes, and opened her mouth until they all heard yelling approaching them: the guards had started to catch up when they heard the tree fall.

Unbeknownst to the group, Gaelin had been notified of the escape and was now standing on the balcony of his chambers, his keen eyes fixated on where the group was going to be crossing. The captain of his guards stepped up beside him to watch what was happening and spoke. "Your orders, my lord?", the captain asked, glancing at Gaelin and seeing the fury in his eyes. "...Get me my bow...and a black arrow...", Gaelin said, the captain nodding quickly and walking inside, going up to a panel and speaking in the dark elves language, the panel sliding open to reveal a pristine black bow, and multiple black arrows. The captain picked up the bow from it's holder and picked up one of the arrows, decorated with black feathers on the end, while the arrowhead was a steely grey and glinting menacingly as the guard carried over to Gaelin, who took both and calmly set the arrow to the bow and held it level at the group, waiting for his chance to fire.

Down at the gap, now with the tree acting as a bridge to get to the other side, Tessara stepped aside and motioned Harsk to cross first as armed guards started rushing towards them, only to stop at a crisp whistle from an unknown distance away. "Okay, come on. Go.", Tessara said, Harsk simply glaring at her before stepping up onto the tree and slowly working his way across, Tessara watching him go before turning to Trig and nodding to her. Trig approached the tree, and with Tessara's help, got onto it and steadily made her way across a good six feet behind Harsk, the two of them crossing without any problems and waiting for Sal to join them next. Looking to Sal as he stepped onto the tree, he glanced at Tessara and the two stared at each other for a long moment before Sal turned away and walked carefully across, the tree starting to make a noise of protest. Once all three were across, Tessara spared a glance at the guards, who suspiciously had their weapons tucked securely at their sides, and then got up onto the tree, gracefully walking across to join the rest of the small group. A loud crack filled the air as the tree finally started to give from the crossing and general age, and Tessara gasped and sped up, making it to the other end in time, and cried out in pain as an arrow was unexpectedly buried in the back of her right thigh. Jumping from the tree as it broke in two and fell into the gap, Tessara landed on both feet and groaned as the impact jiggled the arrow, limping her way over to a nearby boulder and half sitting on it to inspect the damage.

Tessara groaned as she touched the shaft of the arrow in her thigh, breathing hard as she firmly held the shaft between her left pointer finger and thumb, and biting her bottom lip as she used her right hand to snap the arrow, making her cry out as she tossed the rest away, leaving only an inch of the arrow protruding from her thigh. Breathing slowly to calm down, Tessara got off the rock and limped over to the other three who were watching the guards slowly leave, with Sal speaking softly. "They aren't even trying to follow us...even without the tree there, they didn't try...", Sal said, feeling something was off but thought nothing more of it as the four of them walked into the darkness of the forest, the leaves and twigs covering the ground crunching under their feet. Tessara was at the front of the group with Trig behind her, and Sal walking with Harsk behind her, keeping her eyes out for any sign of danger, and lifted a hand to the side of her head as her footsteps began to slow. Rubbing the side of her head, Tessara's breathing changed from steady to almost ragged as she stopped walking, her eyes half lidded like she was about to fall asleep and swayed very lightly.

"Tessara...Something wrong?", Trig asked, looking up at her with concern as Sal and Harsk looked on with concern in their eyes despite how they felt after the events that had taken place inside Gaelin's kingdom. Tessara blinked lightly and shook her head, unable to shake the feeling she was having and swallowed a bit before speaking, her speech slow and nearly quiet. "Guys...I...I don't...I really don't feel...very good...right...now...", Tessara said, and soon without another word, she swayed so badly that she fell backward and crashed to the forest floor in a heap, her breathing labored and eyes nearly closed completely.

**To Be Continued In Chapter 9 ******

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone!
> 
> So initially, this was supposed to be a two parter. However, I soon realized I had so much of this one to do, so I had to make it three instead. 
> 
> Thank you for reading, and stay tuned for more!!!


	9. The Village of Ironshire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After escaping Gaelin Morleth's kingdom, the Pathfinders have a more personal mission: to help Tessara. As her health begins to deteriorate, can the three get her to a small village in time to save her life?
> 
> \----------

The leaves of the forest floor flew into the air as Tessara's body landed with a light thud, her breathing ragged as she tried to speak. "I..I can...barely...b-breathe...", Tessara rasped, Trig running up beside her head to stroke her hair and looked to the guys who knelt down on either side, with Sal looking at her face, while Harsk barely looked at her at all. Trig touched Tessara's forehead and frowned deeply, shaking her head as she looked at the guys. "We need to do something. She cannot keep going like this. I got some herbs that might help take some of the pain away and clean the wound. Harsk, you bind the leg.", Trig said as she moved her pack off her shoulders and set it beside her, starting to dig through it before glancing up and seeing that Harsk's face was turned away from Tessara. "Harsk...She saved our lives. You have to help.", Trig said sternly, going back to digging out the herbs required that could be placed around the wound and brought them over to the side Harsk was on. Harsk finally glanced at Tessara, the two meeting eyes before Tessara rested her head back down on the ground, and shifted his pack, opening it to grab clean bandages to wrap her leg.

Trig crushed and mixed the herbs before carefully taking a dagger from Tessara's leather belt and gently cut away the stained fabric of her pants without touching what remained of the arrow and placing the dagger back where it came from, before applying a generous amount of the herb mixture as she spoke. "Guys...I don't think this is a regular arrow. She wouldn't have trouble breathing if it was...", Trig said as she stepped aside and allowed Harsk to get close and gently wrap the leg. Sal looked at Trig and then back to Tessara, who had closed her eyes, and very gently brushed a lock of her hair from her face as he looked at her. "What is it you are thinking, Trig?", Sal asked as he looked back at her, with Trig meeting his eyes as she said one word. "...Poison...That arrow head has poison on it.", Trig said, silence filling the air as Harsk finished wrapping and pulled the bandages to a generous tightness, resulting in something he did not expect to hear "ARRRRRRGHHHHH TRAAKO!!!!!", exclaimed Tessara suddenly, her eyes clenched from the pain and Harsk giving her a shocked look as he tied the bandage, glancing at Sal and Trig who both gave him a puzzled look. Clearing his throat, Harsk put the remaining roll of bandages in his pack and spoke softly. "Umm...Tessara...is not one to swear...She just yelled shit...", Harsk said as he got his pack done up and placed on his back, as Sal spoke up, looking at Tessara.

"Do you think you will be able to stand now that the wound has been bound?", Sal asked, Tessara opening her eyes to look at him and gave a gentle nod as she pushed herself up into a sitting position, with Sal taking her upper arm and helping her stand up straight before slowly letting go and seeing she was able to stay standing, so once she was, the four resumed walking, with the exception of Tessara who was slowly hobbling along with Sal walking right beside her in case she lost her balance, while Trig and Harsk walked behind them. The group walked along the path for about two hours before Tessara swayed and grabbed a hold of Sal, her breathing slow and her expression worried as she spoke slowly. "I...I think I'm going to sick...", Tessara said, bolting away from Sal before falling on the ground facing away from them and violently throwing up black vomit on the forest floor, Trig running up and holding her hair out of her face. Once Tessara was finished, Trig released her hair but stayed close as Tessara backed up on all fours and took one look at what she had gotten out of her system before speaking softly. "Well...That is not good, is it?...", Tessara asked in a surprised tone before slowly getting to her feet with Sal's help so they could continue along the path.

The four Pathfinders continued along the path, stopping several times from Tessara slowing down whenever she felt like she might fall, and the group would resume walking afterwards. Harsk walked next to Trig as she was muttering to herself. "Black vomit...dizziness...trouble breathing...Has to be something...", Trig said to herself, watching Tessara as Sal once again prevented her from falling over, rattling off various types of poison she knew of before digging a book from her pack and flipping through it as they walked. Harsk watched as Sal helped Tessara before looking to Trig as she was reading the symptoms of various poisons. "Finding anything related to what she has?", Harsk asked, glancing down at Trig as she startled at his voice before going back to reading. "Oh umm...Well there are so many different poisons out there...But I think I just found our answer, but there is bad news to follow that.", Trig said, glancing up to see that Tessara was sitting on a log and trying to breathe in air, but seemed to be failing, and Sal giving a worried look to Trig as he mouthed "She is getting worse...". Trig looked back to her book as she and Harsk stopped close by, and spoke in a soft voice as they both looked at the page she stopped on. "Look at this one...Niviris. It is a very rare, and super deadly plant. The symptoms match what Tessara has, and there is a cure, but...", Trig began and inhaled sharply before covering her mouth with one hand. Harsk looked instantly worried and touched Trig's shoulder. "Hey, hey...What it is? What happens next?", Harsk asked, Trig looking up at him sadly. "...If left untreated...death...", she said, her eyes falling on Tessara, who managed to finally take a small breath of air before standing up with Sal's help.

Harsk looked at Trig in shock before his eyes fell on Tessara as he said "Death" softly to himself, Trig giving a sad nod, and was about to speak again when a thud made them both look over to see Tessara back on the ground and unconscious with Sal kneeling beside her. "She just fell over a split second after standing again. Guys, we need to get her help now!", Sal said urgently as Harsk and Trig ran over. Trig looked around them, seeing nothing but forest and groaned. "She is our only ranger! And we don't know how close the next village is.", Trig said, Harsk then blinking and speaking up. "I can lead us to a village. Get me the map!", Harsk said, the other two giving him a bewildered expression before Trig grabbed the canister containing the group's maps and opened them up, passing them to Harsk who looked them over. "Looks like there is a small village that is close to where we are right now. We can make it on foot and it shouldn't take longer than an hour. Why are you two looking at me like I grew a second head?", Harsk asked, finally seeing the stares Sal and Trig were giving him. "Tessara taught me a few things many, many, many years ago. The basics, really. I can get us to the village, which says here is named Ironshire.", Harsk said, rolling up the map and getting to his feet, Trig following his lead and Sal picking up the unconscious Tessara off the ground, the three quickening their pace to get out of the forest and to the village of Ironshire.

The sun was high in the sky when the group made it out of the forest, Harsk leading them in the direction of the village across the grassy plains, never noticing a peculiar silver raven fly overhead and into the village itself. Once they got close enough, Harsk tucked the maps back inside the canister at Tessara's side before the group moved on. The village of Ironshire was small and humble, with structures made out of stone or wood and a quaint little market square with numerous stalls and people milling about. Harsk looked around before spotting a stall with medical supplies and approached the vendor. "Excuse me. Our friend, she needs medical attention. Arrow with poison on the arrowhead buried in the back of her right leg. She broke off the rest and I bound the wound, and Trig here put a herb mix on the wound to clean it and take some of the pain away. Can you help us?", Harsk asked, the vendor giving him a glance and looking to the unconscious elf laying in Sal's arms. The vendor, a woman who was about forty and roughly five feet tall with messy black hair and kind brown eyes, glanced back to the dwarf and sighed softly as she spoke. "I can bring you to the barracks by the mines. The healers there, they can work wonders and help your friend.", the vendor said, coming out of her stall and motioning the group to follow her to a structure by the iron mines.

The vendor went up to the doors of the barracks and opened them, revealing two rows of single sized beds running down the left and right side of the building, several of the beds being occupied, either awake or sleeping with mining injuries. Harsk walked in first and immediately tracked down a bed that was free, Sal following close behind and carefully laying Tessara on the bed as Trig stood close by while nervously glancing around, the vendor who had led them there closing the barracks doors once they were all inside so she could go back to her stall. After a moment, three healers walked over from behind a wall, two women and a man, and surrounded the other side of the bed, the man leaning down to get a close look at Tessara's bandaged leg. The male healer, Olvar Spraffo, was six feet tall with brown hair and brown eyes, wearing a brown tunic and a serious expression on his face as one of the women healers glanced to Harsk. "What is her name, master Dwarf?", she asked, Harsk looking back at her before looking to Tessara and spoke softly.

"Her name is Tessara, ma'am. Can you save her?", Harsk asked, his expression grim as the female healer opened her mouth to reply, only to be cut off by Olvar as he spoke up. "Let us see what we are dealing with here...", Olvar said, carefully unwrapping the bandage from Tessara's leg and putting it aside before examining the area more closely. "The arrow head has a poison on it. Niviris. Have you heard of it?", Trig asked, her eyes trained on Olvar as he froze for a split second before regaining his composure. "Ahem...I have heard little about it, mostly that if left as it is, it will cause death. But for now, let's get the rest of this arrow from her leg. The longer it stays, the higher her chance of dying.", Olvar said, his clean fingers very carefully pulling the arrow from Tessara's leg while one of the female healers stayed by him with some fresh bandages, the other standing next to Sal and Harsk.

A soft squelch sounded as Olvar pulled the arrowhead from Tessara's leg, her blood barely showing against the black of the arrow shaft and clear on the steely grey arrow head, the female healer wrapping the leg firmly while Olvar walked away, staring at the arrow and then looked back to the group while Trig was talking about a cure in a soft voice to the healers who stayed with them. Heading into the room behind the wall, Olvar sat at a desk with many knick knacks on it, one being a silver raven and quickly wrote a note, stopping to glance over his shoulder now and then before he continued writing. Once he was finished, he stopped to re-read his note.

"The elf is here. Arrow to the back of the leg. Poisoned with Niviris. Awaiting orders."

Olvar glanced over his shoulder to make sure neither the other two healers nor the three Pathfinders were close by, and hurriedly whispered to the small silver raven figurine on his shelf, leaning back as it grew to a full size raven that he passed the note to, the silver raven taking the note in it's beak, and opened the window to release the bird. Watching the raven fly out of sight, Olvar closed the window and got up from his seat, walking out of the room and rejoining the healers just as one of them was in mid sentence. "-pay room and board, and you will be able to visit whenever you would like. If you so wish to pass the time while you wait the ten days of her recovery, they are looking for help in the iron mines, and someone to help making horseshoes.", the female healer, Meena, said, her hands linked in front of her as she spoke to Sal and Harsk. Sal and Harsk glanced at each other, Sal nodding softly as he looked back at Meena. "I can handle the iron mines.", he said, while Harsk grumbled a bit before speaking. "I guess I can handle making horseshoes and nails...", Harsk said, Trig giving a slight chuckle at his gruff tone and looked at Tessara sadly, touching her hand. Meena watched the exchange and smiled softly. "She will be okay. You got her here in plenty of time to save her life. I will personally help you make the cure, we should have it ready tomorrow morning. What happens after depends on her own strength." Meena said, she and the other female healer bowing softly as they walked away and past Olvar, chattering silently about the ingredients to make the cure, while Olvar watched the Pathfinders a moment longer before clearing his throat.

Sal and Harsk both glanced up quickly at the sound and took one last look at Tessara, both of their expressions growing grim as they remembered the events of what happened in Gaelin's kingdom, both of them quietly walking away and leaving Trig with Olvar, still stroking Tessara's hand with her eyes full of unshed tears. After a moment, Trig realized she was being watched and looked up, her hand slowly leaving Tessara's and getting a feeling in the pit of her stomach when she saw Olvar's expressionless face, backing away and trying to make a friendly smile cross her face. "Well I uhh...I will check in later...Please, take good care of her. She is amazing.", Trig said, her smile faltering under Olvar's gaze, and very quickly turned and ran from the room, Olvar watching her go before looking to the unconscious elf, a smirk crossing his lips before it quickly vanished, drawing himself up straight and walking away to check on other patients in the room. Once outside, Trig met up with Sal and Harsk, the three of them heading over to the tavern and inn to get a key each to a room, the chatter limited because of previous events and Tessara's health. Trig looked up at Sal and Harsk as they pointedly avoided her eyes, and gave an annoyed sigh. "Look, you two. Regardless of what happened back in Gaelin's kingdom, she still saved our lives. I know you two are thinking of not visiting her, but you should. Besides...I am unsure of Olvar. I don't think we should trust him.", Trig said, Harsk and Sal both finally looking at her. "I am sure it is nothing, Trig. I will visit Tessara tonight after I finish my first time in the iron mines.", Sal said, adjusting his belongings as he headed up to his room without a second look to get ready, while Harsk followed quickly after to go to his room before he could head off to the blacksmith, Trig watching them go and shaking her head softly as she headed to her own room.

**Later that night... ******

The village of Ironshire was silent when nighttime fell, the moon shining brightly in the vast, star filled sky. The silver raven that Olvar had sent off with the note flew down to the structure, a note between it's talons, to where Olvar was waiting inside pacing back and forth quickly. As the silver raven flew inside, it set the note down before turning back into a small figurine on the shelf amongst other knick knacks. Olvar quickly closed the window once the silver raven was inside and sat down on his wooden chair, staring at the note for a moment before picking it up and unfolding it to see what his orders were, the writing done in a graceful script.

"She is no longer of use to me. You know how to deal with useless things. Come report to me when it has been done to claim your reward."

Olvar read his orders and pursed his lips into a tight line, determined to fulfill the orders he was given. Opening a wooden drawer, he withdrew a sharp dagger with a shiny brown handle and designs engraved into it, and closed the drawer quietly. Leaving the back room, Olvar steadily walked along the line of beds until he reached Tessara's bedside, lifting the handle of the dagger to his lips, closing his eyes and kissing the edge of the handle before opening his eyes.

Wrapping both hands around the handle of the dagger, Olvar raised his arms up high, the silver of the dagger glinting in the moonlight that came through the window...aiming for Tessara's heart...

**To Be Continued in Chapter 10... ******

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Huge thanks goes to Andrew, who has helped me through many ideas and offered up helpful opinions. And enjoys this story as much as I do! =)


	10. The Ironshire Spy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the small village of Ironshire, a spy has been tasked to kill the elf, Tessara, while she rests after being poisoned.
> 
> Will he succeed in his task? Or will he fail and pay the price?
> 
> \----------

Olvar held the dagger high, clutched in both hands and his face a blank slate, staring down at the elf he was tasked to kill. Readying himself, he growled and was about to slam the dagger downwards into the elf's chest when a male voice rang out from the doors, making him freeze and look up in shock, seeing Sal standing inside the doors with a livid expression. "HEY!!!! GET AWAY FROM HER, YOU SON OF A BITCH!!!", Sal yelled, taking off towards Olvar at a run, covered in dirt from being in the mines. Olvar yelled "SHIT!", dropping the dagger as he bolted away from Tessara's bedside, running into the back of the building and pulling down a shelf to slow Sal down before forcing his way through the back door, stumbling for a moment and slamming his shoulder into the stone wall that ran along the back of all the buildings before taking off running as fast as his legs would carry him into the darkness, his breathing panicked. Sal managed to fight his way past the shelf and found his way through the back until he reached the stone wall, but saw no sign of Olvar anywhere and punched the back of a building, growling slightly as he shook his hand, his knuckles hating him for his action.

"Damn it!! That bastard!...Tessara!", Sal said, heading back inside through the back way and taking it upon himself to put the shelf back to it's original position before heading back to where Tessara was. Seeing that she was okay, Sal blew a sigh of relief as he sat down next to her, narrowing his eyes when he spotted a glint of the dagger just under the bed, and picked it up carefully, examining it and touching the engraved designs before tucking it underneath the soft mattress Tessara was laying on so he could show the other two at the next opportunity. Rather than take the chance that Olvar could return and finish the job, Sal decided to pull over an empty bed and layed down on it, watching over Tessara, his emotions still mixed deep down. Moving a hand from his side, Sal slowly moved it to rest on top of Tessara's, his eyes focused on her face, and very softly whispered. "...Please live...", Sal said, his hand remaining on Tessara's as he eventually succumbed to sleep.

Near the outside of the village, Olvar burst through the door of his home and quickly closed the door, locking it as a sleepy female voice sounded and startled him before breathing a sigh of relief as he saw his wife, Laila. "Mmm....honey?...You are back home so late. Is everything okay?", Laila asked, one hand rubbing her green eyes and the other rubbing her very pregnant belly, as a little boy ran by her legs and wrapped his small arms around his father's leg. The five year old boy, Darius, looked up at Olvar with bright green eyes and a big smile. "Daddy!!!!", Darius said in an adorable voice, holding his dad's leg as tight as his little arms could, Olvar giving a smile and patting his son's head, the panic well hidden behind his eyes. "Hey little man. Let me talk to mommy, okay? Go to bed.", Olvar said, Darius giving a little pout but hugged his dad's leg once more before running past Laila, who watched him before looking at Olvar with concern as he walked by her, quickly following him into their bedroom.

"Honey? Would you kindly explain to me why you burst through our front door as though the devil himself was at your heels?", Laila asked, sitting down slowly on the bed as Olvar brought over a brown pack, opening it up and doing his best to pack a few sets of clothes calmly even though his heart was racing. "Well honey umm...See, there is an elf where I work, and she is in rough shape after being poisoned. So I have to go away for a few days to another village to get extra medicine to help her.", Olvar said, finishing packing his clothes and looked up to see Laila nod softly, smiling a little though it did not touch her eyes. "Of course, honey. I understand. Just...come back as soon as you can okay? Darius misses you so much when you are away on the road and at work. And he is growing fast. He will be an adult before you know it.", Laila said, watching her husband quietly as he sighed and nodded gently, taking a seat next to her and holding her hand. "I know, my love. I promise to return. I love you so much.", Olvar said, smiling gently and softly kissed Laila once on the lips and then on the forehead before getting up with his pack and going to say goodbye to Darius, Laila softly whispering "I love you too..." as she watched him vanish from her sight once more and once Olvar had goodbye to his son, he calmly walked out of the back door of his home and checked every direction to make sure there was no one around, then quickly walked out of the village towards Arthfell Forest, pack in hand, disappearing into the night.

**The next morning...**

****

The sun rose over Ironshire, the villagers appearing in the streets to sell their goods, while others walked about to purchase them or just browse. Trig was up before Harsk was, so she got dressed and left the tavern they were staying in to head over to where Tessara was being kept. Walking inside, she nodded to Meena and her fellow healer in greeting as they were crushing and mixing herbs together for the cure to rid Tessara's body of the Niviris poison, and walked to where Tessara's bed was, stopping short when she saw Sal asleep on his side facing her, his hand still resting on hers. Giving a puzzled look, she turned and walked up to Meena, tugging her pant leg. "Excuse me. How long as Sal been with Tessara?", Trig asked, looking back at the beds with confusion as Meena followed her gaze and shrugged. "Honestly? We do not know. We came in today and he was there.", Meena said, going back to making the cure as Trig walked back over to the beds and nudged Sal a few times until he groaned and cracked his eyes open.

"Mmm....Oh, Trig, it's you.", Sal said, giving a relieved sigh as he sat up and released Tessara's hand. Trig looked at Sal and then hopped up onto the bed next to him as he simply gazed at Tessara's still form. "Trig...I...I came to visit her last night and I...I couldn't believe it. I saw-", Sal was saying but stopped as Meena approached them with a kind smile and a bowl in one hand and a roll of clean bandages in the other. "I am so sorry to interrupt. My fellow healer, Serena, and I have finished making the cure for your friend. She is tending to other matters now, so I require your help.", Meena said, giving the bowl to Sal, who took it with a blank gaze after what he saw the night before, as she leaned down and very carefully removed the bandages Olvar had put around Tessara's wounded leg.

Once the bandage had been fully removed, Trig and Sal looked at the wound. As Tessara was an elf, the wound had begun to heal itself cleanly, also in part to the herbs that Trig applied before Harsk had bandaged the leg. Meena smiled softly as she rubbed the pad of her thumb just above the wound and turned to Sal. "Okay. I need you to apply some of that mix to the wound. I will keep the wound exposed with both hands while you do.", Meena said, turning back around and holding Tessara's leg so Sal could see the wound clearly. Instead of automatically moving to apply the herb mix, Sal swallowed and took a look at Tessara's face before setting the bowl on the bed and getting up, quickly and quietly walking away as Trig called after him. "Sal!? Where are you going!?", Trig said, her voice desperate as Meena's eyes followed Sal as he vanished out the front door.

"Perhaps it is none of my business but...did something happen? Before you all got here...", Meena said, looking concerned as she picked up the bowl and began carefully applying the herb mix to the arrow shaped wound. Trig took a breath and told Meena about where they had come from, and upon hearing that they had come from Gaelin's kingdom, Meena's face immediately paled and her hands began to shake with the bowl still resting in one of them. Trig saw this and carefully took the bowl from Meena as she whispered in a scared tone of voice. "K-King Morleth!? Oh gods... That man... That man is pure evil! Your group...You are all lucky to even be alive. I... I must go to my other duties. Bind the wound so the herbs can begin to help remove the poison from her body.", Meena said, getting to her feet and walking away to take care of the few other patients who remained inside to heal from their own injuries or illnesses.

Trig watched Meena as she worked far away from where Tessara was laying, and sighed softly as she carefully wrapped Tessara's leg, and gently gave Tessara a kiss on the cheek and whispered "I will check on you tomorrow..." before walking away, her eyes full of unshed tears. Leaving the structure, she made her way back to the inn and walked inside to see Sal sitting at a table with Harsk, both with an ale between their hands, and frowned as she walked over. "You owe me an explanation here, Sal. You said you saw something but you couldn't say with Meena close by. And then you leave when you were asked to help Tessara. What gives?", Trig asked, getting onto the bench next to Sal and pushing his arm with her small hands, while Harsk blinked and looked at Sal. "What is she talking about? What did you see?", Harsk asked, both him and Trig talking to Sal at once until Sal slammed a fist onto the table, silencing them immediately and drawing attention to them from other patrons, who soon after went back to their own business as Sal spoke up shakily.

"...I ... I saw that Olvar guy about to... I saw him about to... Damn it. I saw him about to slam a dagger into Tessara's chest!!", Sal said and grabbed his mug of ale, taking a long drink as Harsk and Trig stared at Sal wide eyed before looking at each other and then to Sal. "Sal... You are positive it was him?", Harsk asked, earning only a nod from Sal as he set his mug down. "I know it was him. I gave chase but lost him.", Sal said, his eyes focused on the table as a silence fell over the three until Trig eventually spoke, watching Sal sadly. "...You still love her...", Trig said, watching as Sal gave the lightest nod, the three falling into silence as they contemplated what Sal had revealed to them until Trig spoke up in a near whisper, the name of a person they knew would go to such lengths. "...Gaelin...", Trig said in a whisper, the three looking at each other knowingly.

**That same night... ******

Deep inside of Arthfell Forest, Olvar walked along the dark and winding path, adjusting his pack as he looked behind him nervously before turning back around, his feet snapping the twigs strewn all over the forest floor. Breathing heavily, he leaned against the trunk of a tree and looked up at the leafy canopy above him, seeing no stars nor the night sky, and looked back down and around before freezing. In the shadows, he barely spotted cloaked dark elves watching him, with one stepping forward and motioning Olvar to follow as they all proceeded along the same path, Olvar following after them as they led him into the darkness. After what seemed to be forever, Olvar found himself standing before the throne... under the intense scrutiny of Gaelin himself, who breathed calmly as he drummed his fingers casually on the arm rests of his throne before stopping. "Well...Has my favorite spy got a report of his success for me so he may claim his reward?", Gaelin asked, raising an eyebrow and sitting perfectly still, dressed in his royal robes, while Olvar swallowed before stuttering nervously in a near whisper.

"Well... I... You see...", Olvar began, flinching when Gaelin cut him off. "ON WITH IT, SPY!!!", Gaelin yelled, his voice carrying through the levels of his kingdom, and once the echo stopped, Olvar spoke. "I... I took the blade you gave me. I approached the elf's bedside and I was ready to plunge the dagger into her chest, until... until her human companion walked in. He saw me, most glorious king, so I dropped the dagger in a panic and ran as he gave chase and I successfully lost him.", Olvar said, daring to take a glance at Gaelin and paling when he saw the livid expression on his face, but knew he had to finish his report, getting more nervous by the second. "I went to my home and grabbed everything I could fit in my pack and then I came here. I am sorry, King Morleth, but I have failed you. I did not have anywhere else to go, as the Pathfinders are going to remain until the elf heals and by now, they would know it was me and then word would get out. People would talk... My wife... Oh gods, my wife would find out what I have done.", Olvar said, his voice cracking and breathed in to steady himself as he dared spare a glance to Gaelin again, seeing only a cold glare on the king's face.

Gaelin briefly drummed his fingers on one arm rest while the fingers of his other hand lifted to his face and stroked his own jawline as he looked up at the ceiling for a moment before sighing. "Oh Olvar... You are my favorite spy. My most loyal follower. You were handed the elf on a silver platter and yet you failed to end her life.", Gaelin said, getting up from his throne and paced quietly back and forth while Olvar clasped his hands in front of him. "Please, King Morleth. Show me mercy. I could go back under the cover of night and try again! Anything you desire, I will do!", Olvar said, his voice pleading as he watched Gaelin pace slowly before he finally stopped right in front of Olvar, eyeing his clasped hands before his eyes met Olvar's frightened ones. "Hmmm...mercy. Mercy... for a spy who failed to complete his task yet returns to me hoping he will claim his reward through a second chance, which being the good king I am, I shall grant you. I have your reward with me right now... would you like to see before you go to complete your second chance?", Gaelin asked his voice dangerously low. but unnoticed by Olvar who cracked a big smile and nodded his head. Visions of diamonds and coins danced through Olvar's mind, closing his eyes as he imagined a bigger home for his family and the finest cloth money could buy. Once he opened his eyes, he saw only one thing: Gaelin swinging a long and shiny sword through the air, a furious look on his face. Blood splattered Gaelin's robes and part of his face as he severed Olvar's head from his neck in one swing and sending it rolling down the few stairs, the body grotesquely twitching before it fell over at Gaelin's feet.

Gaelin's eyes regarded the twitching body at his feet and tilted his head casually to one side as he watched the twitching slowly stop, and flicked his eyes to where his captain of the guards was approaching. The captain looked at the headless body and then looked to his king, standing perfectly straight. "Your orders, my king?", the captain asked, Gaelin pursed his lips as he then looked down at the body for a moment before looking back up to the captain as he stepped around the pool of blood, speaking casually as if he had not just killed a man. "Clean this up and dispose of the body. I am going to go and plan my next move after a nice bath.", Gaelin said, sheathing his blood stained sword as he made his way to his chambers to rinse off the blood, his mind full of ideas for how he could deal with Tessara and his second target: Sal.

**To Be Continued In Chapter 11... ******


End file.
